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RESOURCES OF 

ARKANSAS. 



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COMPILED BY 

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BY DIRECTION OF 



HON. SIMON P. HUGHES, 

GOVERNOR OF ARKANSAS. 



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• ■ C , ^ 1885. 



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ARKANSAS: 



ARKA, 52,198 SQUARE IVIILKS, 



GOVERNOR, SIMON P. HUGHES. 



CAPITAL, 



LITTLE RDCK. 



OFFICIAL CENSUS, 1880-TOTIL, 802,525, 



Total. I Male. ! Female. 



^ulation 802,525 416,279 ' 386,246 



Native. 1 F're'gn. ] White. I Color'd. 



792,175 ! 10,350 ' 591,531 210,666 



POPULATION IN 1885, 



- 1,000,000. 



A .nsas was settled by the French in the year 1670, and 
was purchased by the United States from the French govern- 
ment in 1803. It was organized into a territory March 2nd, 
1 8 19, and admitted into the Union as a State by act of Congress 
June 15th, 1836. According to official census reports in 1820 
it had a population of 14,255, in 1830 of 30,388, in 1840 of 
97,554, in 1850 of 209,897, in i860 of 435,450, in 1870 of 
481,471. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 

Arkansas is one of the Southwestern States of the United 
States of North America, situated between the parallels of 33 



and 36 degrees of north latitude, and between the meridians of 
89 and 95 degrees west from Greenwich. 

It is bounded on the north by the State of Missouri, on 
parallel of 36 deg. 30 min. ; east by the Mississippi river and 
State of Missouri ; south by the States of Louisiana and Texas, 
and west by the Indian territory and State of Texas. 

Besides the Mississippi river, which forms almost its entire 
eastern boundary, the State is traversed by many other navig- 
able streams, the principal of which are the Arkansas, White, 
Ouachita, St. Francis, Black, Bartholomew, Little Red, and 
many others, furnishing thousands of miles of. water-ways for 
the transportation of the products of the State, perpetually in- 
suring against excessive freight charges. 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

The lands of the State may be 4ivided into three grand 
divisions — the mountainous, the rolling or hilly, and the level. 
The mountainous comprises about one-fourth or about 8,000,000 
acres ; the rolling or hilly one-half, or about 16,000,000 acres, 
and the level one-fourth, or about 8,000,000 acres. 

The mountainous lands are situate in the western and 
northern parts of the State. The mountains north of the Arkan- 
sas river are to be found in the counties of Crawford, Washing- 
ton, Franklin, Madison, Johnson, Newton, Pope, Searcy, Van 
Buren, Cleburne, Carroll, Boone, Marion, Baxter, Izard, Fulton, 
Independence, Stone, Sharp and Randolph. These mountains 
are spurs of the Ozark, extending from the line of Missouri in 
Randolph county in a southwesterly direction to the Indian 
Territory, and rarely attain the height of 1,400 feet. There is 
a very marked difference in the character of the timber, soil and 
formation, between the north and south side of this range of 
mountains. On the south side the formation is sandstone, slate 
and mica schists, and the soil is either a grayish yellow, a cold 
gray-colored clay, or a gray sandy loam. The timber is com- 
posed of red, white, post and black oaks, with patches of beech, 
hickory, occasionally sugar maple, and large tracts covered 
with magnificent pines. Upon the north side, the formation 



(3) 

is generally limestone ; the soil to the crest of the mountain is 
exceedmgly fertile, as is evidenced by the growth of the timber, 
which comprises the paw-paw, wild cherry, walnut, black locust, 
Spanish oak, hackberry, red and white elm, and such other 
timbers as are found nowhere except upon the most fertile lands. 
It is upon the northern slope of this mountain range, and the 
spurs and table-lands making off from it, that the apple reaches 
its greatest perfection and is freest from disease or noxious 
insects. Along this range, reaching more than lOO miles, are 
numerous beautiful and fertile valleys and many tracts of table- 
lands yet the property of the general government and subject 
to homestead entry. For health, the growth of the apple, 
peach, pear, wheat, oats, corn, and the cultivated grasses, these 
lands, are unsurpassed, and, as a fact of peculiar importance, 
upon the crest of this range of hills the fruit crop is unfailing, 
having never been killed by frost. In the western part of the 
State, south of the Arkansas river, is also found a portion of 
the mountainous area. These mountains reach an altitude 
rarely exceeding 1,500 feet above the sea level; are not con- 
nected in a continuous chain, but are found in detached groups, 
with wide and fertile valleys intervening. These mountainous 
lands are situated in the counties of Scott, Logan, Montgomery, 
Perry, Pulaski, Polk, Garland, Pike and Howard. The princi- 
pal forest growth is the yellow pine, of which vast bodies of the 
best quality extend through this section of the State. The soil 
is either yellowish or gray sandy loam or gray clay. The for- 
mation is generally sandstone, slate, mica schist, granite, and in 
Pike and Howard counties a cretaceous limestone, and immense 
deposits of gypsum, with large tracts of stiff black and red 
lands. This section is peculiarly adapted to the growth of the 
grape, peach, plum, strawberries, raspberries, and in many parts 
the apple and pear succeed well. Of field crops, corn, cotton, 
wheat, oats and rye succeed well. Clover, timothy and herd's 
grass also grow satisfactory crops. It is also well adapted to 
raising stock. In this section the United States owns thousands 
of acres of desirable lands, which are subject to homestead 
entry. 



(4) 

LEVEL LANDS. 

The level lands, comprising 'one-fourth of the entire area 
of the State, may be divided into five regions, which materially 
differ from each other in soil, forest growth and in fertility. 
These divisions will be designated as the alluvial, swamp, prairie, 
second bottoms and black lands. The alluvial lands are found 
along all the numerous water-courses of the State, especially 
along the Mississippi, White, Arkansas and Red rivers, and 
Bayou Bartholomew, in many places, the alluvial bottoms 
are miles in width. These are among the most productive 
lands in the world — cultivated for forty years in the same crop 
without the application of fertilizers, they continue to yield 
remunerative crops. The soil differs greatly. Near the stream 
it is generally a gray sandy loam, back from the stream it is 
either a red or black stiff land, commonly called buckshot, from 
the peculiar form it takes when broken. The alluvial lands, 
where uncleared, are covered with a heavy forest growth com- 
posed of Cottonwood, sweetgum, bluckgum, varieties of elm, 
large grape vines, burr oak, white oak, box alder, ash and 
white hickory, with heavy undergrowth of cane and paw-paw 
on the sandy loam. 

The swamp lands are generally situated between the allu- 
vial lands and the second bottoms, but are found generally dif- 
fused in small bodies throughout the State, when it is generally 
designated slash land, too low for cultivation, except for grasses ; 
the water stands upon them during the winter and spring, but 
are dry in the summer and fall. These lands could be reclaimed 
by ditching, and would then be among the best in the State, 
but as there are so many square miles of equally as good lands 
unoccupied, needing no draining, it is useless to expect any 
effort to be made in the near future to reclaim these swamp 
lands ; they are only valuable now for their timber along the 
bayous and ponds. In these swamps are to be found vast 
brakes of valuable cypress timber. 

The prairie lands are principally located in the counties of 
Prairie, Lonoke and Arkansas, though small prairies are to be 
found in many other counties of the State. The soil of the 



(s) 

prairies is generally of a grayish yellow or a cold gray color, 
with sub-soil of tenacious clay, but there are exceptions to this. 
In the Grand Prairie, in Arkansas county, there is a large sec- 
tion of the prairie composed of dark gray sand. This prairie, 
in the the three counties referred to, is rolling — like great 
waves in the sea, each wave being half mile across. A very 
large part of this prairie is unoccupied, being used for the pas- 
turing of cattle and horses, for which it is admirably adapted, 
and for making hay. Thousands of tons of hay are annually 
cut from this prairie, part of which is used in the State and a 
large amount shipped abroad, and finds ready sale. Oats, 
timothy and herd's grass grow well on this prairie, as do the 
peach, pear and plum. Fruit culture is successfully prosecuted 
in many parts, but the principal pursuit is raising cattle. A 
German settlement has begun the business of dairying, with 
flattering prospects. 

The second bottoms extend from the swamps to the hills, 
and are principally located in the eastern counties of the State. 
The soil, for the most part, is a light gray color, sometimes of a 
yellowish cast, resting upon a sub-soil of yellowish or mulatto- 
colored clay. These lands are very productive and durable. 
Owing to its level surface and peculiar texture, it does not 
become denuded of its soil. This class of land is heavily 
timbered with white, red, black, Spanish, post and other 
varieties of oak, blackgum, sweetgum, hickory, dogwood, 
red-bud, red and white elm, ash, etc. It is well adapted to 
the growth of corn, cotton, oats, clover, timothy, red-top, 
millet, peaches, strawberries, grapes, pears and plums. 
black" LANDS. 

The black lands of Arkansas contain a large percentage 
of lime, are very similar to the black lands of Illinois and Texas, 
and are among the most productive of the lands of the State, 
producing heavy crops of corn, cotton, wheat, oats, and the 
cultivated varieties of grass. These lands are to be found in 
many parts of the State, principally in the counties of Hemp- 
stead. Little River, Sevier, Nevada, Clark, Searcy, Stone, Izard 
and Independence. 



(6) 

HILLY, OR ROLLING LANDS. 

This class of lands constitutes about one-half of the entire 
area of the State, and are located more or less in every county, 
but the main portion lies to the south and east of the two moun- 
tain ranges of the State ; and they are characterized by a great 
diversity of climate, forest growth and fertility of soil. Those 
located to the south of the Arkansas river are generally covered 
with a magnificent growth of yellow pine, interspersed with 
black, red, white and post oak, hickory, and in the southern 
counties with beech, hazel, ironwood and ash. The soil is 
generally of a light gray color, very loose, sandy, occasionally 
gravelly, easily cultivated and very productive. This land pro- 
duces large crops of corn, cotton, oats, rye, sweet and Irish 
potatoes, peaches, strawberries, plums, grapes and pears. It is 
especially adapted to growth of the scuppernong grape, which 
grows luxuriantly and bears profusely, furnishing a never- 
failing crop with no attention except to furnish a support to its 
ever-extending growth. The hilly, or rolling section to the 
north of the Arkansas river and to the south of the Boston 
mountain, has for its forest growth all the varieties of the oak 
common to the State, sweet and black gum, dogwood, walnut, 
elm, hickory, red-bud, maple, etc., with occasional tracts of 
pine forests. The soil, for the most part, is of a mulatto, or 
gray color, occasionally red, but with little if any sand, resting 
upon a sub-soil of tenacious clay, easily cultivated and very 
productive. That portion of the rolling, or hilly lands located 
in the counties of Clay, Green, Graighead, Poinsett, St. Francis, 
Lee and Phillips, known as Crawley's Ridge, has a soil and 
forest growth distinctive from any other portion of the State. 
Its principal forest growth is the yellow poplar, wliich there 
grows to an immense size. Along with the poplar are found 
the different varieties of the oak, gum, maple, hickory, walnut, 
sugar maple and dogwood. The soil is generally of a light 
yellowish or gray color, often gravelly, very friable and easily 
cultivated, producing abundant crops of cotton, corn, oats, 
wheat, clover, timothy, red-top, and all varieties of fruits com- 
mon to this latitude. Owing to the transportation facilities 



(7) 

afforded by the many railroad lines which traverse and cross 
this section, it is admirably adapted to the culture of early 
vegetables and fruits for Northern markets. The rolling, or 
hilly lands situated in the counties of Washington, Benton, 
Carroll, Madison, Boone, Baxter and Marion, which are north 
of the Boston mountain, owing to the healthfulness of the cli- 
mate, the abundance and purity of the water, and the fertility 
of the soil, are the most desirable to be found in any country. 
The timber is comparatively small and thinly growing, inter- 
spersed with large tracts of prairie, with occasional tracts of 
yellow pine. The soil is yellow or gray, in some parts red, 
much of it containing lime. Large crops of wheat, corn, rye, 
barley, oats, clover, timothy and tobacco are grown. Peaches, 
apples, pears, plums and berries grow here to perfection; in no 
part of the world do apples grow to greater perfection. 

MINERALS. 

COAL. 

The coal fields of Arkansas are very extensive, covering an 
estimated area of twelve thousand square miles, and in the 
valley of the Arkansas, where coal mining is most largely 
prosecuted, the beds average a thickness of four and one-half 
feet. The most valuable deposits of this mineral have been 
found in the counties of Sebastian, Scott, Logan, Franklin, 
Johnson, Pope and Yell. But a small portion of this vast coal 
deposit is being developed. The Ouita Coal Company are 
operating mines in the counties of Johnson, Franklin and Pope. 
Stiewell & Co. are also successfully operating mines in the 
county of Johnson. The product of these mines is constantly 
growing into favor, and demand for it increasing. Coal of a 
fine quality has been found in other parts of the State, notably 
in White county, where coal of a very superior quality has 
been found in various parts of the county, indicating that a 
vein of this mineral runs diagonally through the county. No 
effort has been made to develop it further than to use it in 
blacksmith shops in the southwest part of the county, where it 
crops out and is extracted without difficulty. 



(8) 

In reference to the quality of the coal found in the Arkan- 
sas Valley, Dr. David Dale Owen in his Geological Recon- 
noissance of Arkansas, says : " The character of this coal is 
worthy of special notice. The approximate chemical analysis 
here given shows it to be a semi-anthracite, rich in carbon, and 
containing a small proportion of ochre-colored ashes, with only 
8.4 per cent, of volatile matter, including moisture expelled at 
300 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer. Its specific gravity 
is 1.335- 

"The approximate analysis gives: 

,. , ^., ^^ of Moisture 0.5 

Volatile matters... 8.4 < ^r , .m 1 .■u^ ^^ 

^ { Volatile combustible gases. . . 7.9 

P , ^ f Fixed carbon 85.6 

^ ■ \ Ashes (ochre yellow) 6.0 

1 00.0 1 00.0 

" This coal contains a far higher percentage of fixed carbon 
than any western coal that has ever been analyzed in my labor- 
atory except some coals I received from Arkansas some years 
before the commencement of this survey." 

The experiments of Johnson, De La Beche, Playfair, Hays 
and Rogers on different ^oals, as well as experience in the 
East, go to prove that though the semi-anthracites may not be 
the best adapted for some purposes, they have far higher heat- 
ing and considerably more reducing powers than the best bitu- 
minous coals ; and besides, the semi-anthracites will evaporate in 
a given time from 15 to 20 per cent, more pounds of water than 
bituminous coals. 

Dr. Owen further states : " Now the analysis of the Spadra 
coal proves it to contain 25 to 30 per cent more fixed carbon 
in the coke than the best bituminous coal of Europe or 
America; and it even exceeds by 1.35 per cent that of the 
richest semi-anthracites of Pennsylvania. It has 3.83 percent 
more fixed carbon in the coke than the celebrated * Parker ' 
Vein of George Creek Valley in Maryland." 

Of the forty-three coals reported on by Johnson in his 
work on American coals, the semi-anthracite of Lyken's Valley 
ajiproachcs nearest in composition to the Spadra coal, as will 



(9) 

be seen by comparing the following approximate analysis of 

these two coals : 

Spadra. Lyken's Valley. 

Volatile combustible matter 7.9 ' 6.88 

Fixed carbon 85.6 83.84 

Ashes 6.0 9.25 

The composition of the Spadra coal approaches so nearly 
to that of the Lyken's Valley coal of Pennsylvania that we may 
assume the practical properties observed by experiments on 
this coal by Johnson to be very nearly the same as those that 
would be found in the Spadra coal if subjected to the same 
tests. I therefore subjoin some of the most important char- 
acters representing the efficiency of that coal compared with 
Pittsburgh coal, one of the best known and most generally use- 
ful of our western bituminous coals : 

While one part of Pittsburgh bituminous coal will generate 
8.2 pounds of steam at a temperature of 212 degrees, the same 
quantity of Lyken's Valley semi-anthracite will generate 9.46 
pounds of steam at 212 degrees. While one cubic foot of 
Pittsburgh coal will generate 384 pounds of steam, one cubic 
foot of Lyken's Valley semi-anthracite will generate 459 pounds 
of steam. 

The "Spadra" coal described and treated of by Dr. Owen 
was obtained from a vein three feet in thickness on the Spadra 
creek, near its confluence with the Arkansas river, in Johnson 
county, and does not rank in quality with some of the coals 
found in Sebastian, Johnson and other counties. These coals 
produce but little, if any, smoke. The Arkansas river flows 
through the centre of the principal deposits of coal in this 
State, and the Little ijlock & Fort Smith Railroad also 
traverses these coal fields, making connection at Fort Smith 
with the north-west by means of the 'Frisco Railway, and at 
Little Rock with the east, south and south-west by means of 
Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, Little Rock, Mississippi 
River & Texas Railroad, and the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & 
Southern Railway, thus furnishing water and rail transportation 
to market. 



(lO) 

The extent of these coal -deposits, the cheapness with 
which the mineral can be mined, the fine quality of the coals, 
the transportation facilities, the increasing popularity and 
demand for the product of the mines now being worked, the 
low price at which the coal bearing lands can be bought, offer 
excellent opportunities for investment, and we may reasonably 
expect that in the near future Arkansas will rank as one of the 
leading coal-producing States. 

I RON. 

In the hilly regions, including the counties of Pulaski, 
Crawford, Dallas, Saline, Grant, Hot Spring, Indepen4ence, 
Izard, Lawrence, Logan, Madison, Pike, Polk, Sevier, Sharp, 
Searcy, Van Buren, Howard, Cleburne, White, Montgomery 
and Scott, magnetic hematite, limonite, carbonate, specular, 
and pot or looking-glass iron ore is found in large quantities. 
The hematite iron beds in some places crops out upon the 
surface acres in extent, in many places this iron is situate in 
close proximity to the coal and limestone. The iron interest 
of the State has not been in anywise developed. 

MANGANESE. 

In the county of Polk vast deposits of manganese are to 
be found, comprising the largest be^ of this mineral ever 
known, but it is too far away from transportation to make it of 
value. It is also found in Izard county. Large deposits of an 
excellent quality of manganese is found in the county of Indepen- 
dence, where most of the mineral is free from phosphorous and 
is near White river, a navigable stream, and to the White River 
Branch of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, 
These mines are being developed to a considerable extent, and 
the mineral is in high repute with maiflifacturers of steel. 

ZINC. 

Says Dr. Owen: "Arkansas is destined, I believe, to take 
the lead of all the Western States, in her resources of ores of 
zinc and manganese. 

"The magnesian limestone belonging to the lower silurian 
period seems to be the great repository of the zinc ore, of 



which there are three principal varieties : the pure carbonate of 
zinc, the calamine or Smithsonite of mineralogists, the silicate 
of zinc or electric calamine, and the sulphuret of zinc "or zinc 
blend (black jack of the miner). The analyses of these ores 
prove them to be at least as rich as, if not richer and purer^ 
than the zinc ores of the most noted localities of Europe, and 
there is no reason why they should not be worked with profit 
to the miner and smelter." 

Zinc ore in abundance is found in the counties of Law- 
rence, Independence and Marion, lying upon the surface. A 
very large deposit has lately been found in the latter county. 

LEAD. 

Arkansas promises to afford considerable lead ore. This 
mineral is found in most of the mountainous sections of the 
State ; that found in the counties of Pulaski, Sevier. Polk, 
Montgomery and Howard is rich in silver. 

Dr. Owen states : " Fragments of a porous lead picked up 
among the rubbish at the mouth of one of the shafts in Pulaski 
county yielded by cupellation from the reduced lead at the rate 
of 234 ounces from the ton of 2,000 pounds, and a specimen of 
a bright steel grey ore, finely chrystaline in its structure, from 
the same mines, gave as much as 339-2 ounces to the ton of 
2,000 pounds. The mines from which these specimens were 
obtained are known as the Kellogg mines, and are situate 
near Little Rock, the capital of the State. These mines have 
been worked in a crude way. Several rich pockets have been 
found, but no true vein. There is but little doubt that a true 
vein exists, as argentiferous galena, identical with that found in 
the Kellogg mines, is found extending from the Kellogg 
mine into Sevier county, a distance of 150 miles. Copper, in 
the form of carbonates and sulphates, has been found in many 
counties of the State, and within the present year a large de- 
posit of carbonate of copper has been discovered in Searcy 
county. The mine has been opened but eight or ten feet, the 
ore is found in large masses. One piece taken out weighed 
over 300 pounds, and a piece is in sight that will weigh a ton 



(12) 

or more. There can be no question but that this is a rich 
and valuable deposit. 

OTHER MINERALS. 

Rich deposits of antimony have been found in Sevier 
county, kaolin or porcelain clay of the best quality is found 
in many counties of the State. The best deposits are in the 
counties of Hot Spring, Howard, Ouachita and Pulaski. In 
case of the latter county it can be mined at small expense by 
stripping the light soil which covers it. The quartz of feldspar 
rock lying in close proximity will answer for a flux to be used 
in the manufacture of the finer hard porcelains. 

Extensive beds of gypsum, often crystallized into selenite, 
are found in the counties of Pike, Bradley and Howard. Gyp- 
sum and tertiary-shell marls are found in many portions of 
the State, which are valuable as mineral fertilizers. Nitre 
and paint earths are also found in large quantities. A very 
valuable quality of lithograph stone has been discovered in 
Izard and Independence counties. The quarry is now being 
worked and the deposit is found to be very extensive. This 
stone compares favorably in firmness of texture and freedom 
from flaws with that imported from Germany. Marble in large 
quantities is found in many counties, especially in the counties 
of Independence, Izard, Marion, Searcy, Carroll, Saline, 
Newton and Madison, of fine texture and of various colors, 
such as pink, gray, white, and in the counties of Independence 
and Searcy a black marble is found susceptible of receiving 
a high polish. 

The deposit of marble in this State is greater than that of 
any other State in the Union. The deposits run to the thick- 
ness of six feet. The larger portion of the marble of the State 
is similar in color to that of the Tennessee marble. At Eureka 
Springs extensive works are engaged in working these marbles. 

Roofing slate is found in the counties of Pulaski, Saline, 
Polk, Pike and Sevier. This slate, in point of durability, 
evenness of cleavage and beauty of color is equal to the 
celebrated slates of Vermont. Quarries are being opened in 
Pulaski and Saline counties. Soap-stone of the very best qual- 



(13) 

ity is being quarried in Saline county. Granite of superior 
quality is found within a few miles of Little Rock. The cele- 
brated Hot Springs hone-stone is found in Garland county in 
inexhaustible quantities, as is also the Ouachita whet-stone. 
Serpentine is also found in Pulaski and Saline counties, while 
building stone — both hmestone and sandstone, of superior 
quality — is found in two-thirds of the counties of the State. 
These rich mineral resources of the State are but little devel- 
oped and present a grand opportunity for profitable investment. 

TIMBER. 
No State in the Union has a greater variety of timber for 
use in mechanical purposes than Arkansas. According to the 
best estimates there are in Arkansas 30,000 square miles of 
heavily timbered land. The varieties of timber in this vast 
forest includes the red cedar, cypress, black and white walnut, 
several varieties of the pine, black and honey locust, beech, 
wild cherry, bois de arc, linn, several varieties of the maple, 
including the sugar maple, white, post, over cup, red, black, 
water, pin, bur, and many other varieties of the oak, black and 
white birch, black, red, sweet and tupilo gum, tulip or poplar, 
red and black mulbery, white, black, nutmeg, and many other 
varieties of hickory, peccan, catalpa, magnolia, red and white 
elm, white, blue, and swamp ash, two varieties of dogwood, 
holly, buckeye, persimmon, and many other varieties. The 
cypress, white and black oaks, walnut, poplar, red gum, and 
pine attains to very large size. Of these timbers the most 
abundant and valuable are the cypress, white oak and pine. 
The white oak is found abundantly along the uplands border- 
ing all the streams of the State, The cypress is found in all of 
the swamps bordering on the rivers, lakes and bayous in the 
eastern and southern part of the State. The pine is generally 
diffused over the hilly sections, but it is principally found in 
the counties south of the Arkansas river and west of the 
Bayou Bartholomew. It is estimated that there are fifteen 
thousand square miles of pine land in this State that will yield 
from 1,000 to 10,000 feet of lumber to the acre. The poplar 
is only found on Crawley Ridge and the bottoms along its base. 



(14) 

The yellow poplar here attains magnificent proportions. The 
country furnishing the poplar extends from the line of the State 
of Missouri to Helena, in Phillips county, occupying an area 
averaging ten miles in width and more than one hundred miles 
in length. In view of the rapid destruction of American 
forests, these magnificent timbers of Arkansas present a fine 
field of profitable investment, as these forests of pine and oak 
are in close proximity to navigable streams, and traversed by 
railroads, which cross these rivers and reach into the prairies 
of Kansas and Nebraska on the north and the prairies of 
Texas on the southwest. 

FRUITS. 

Apples, peaches, pears, cherries, plums, strawberries, and 
in the southern part of the State figs, all do well. In the 
northwestern part of the State the apple reaches its highest 
perfection. The counties of Benton and Washington, where 
the cultivation of apples has been a leading industry for many 
years, have obtained a national reputation for growing the best 
apples — owing to the magnificent specimens from these coun- 
ties shown at all of the principal exhibitions held in the United 
States for the last several years. Apples also grow well in the 
counties along the Arkansas River Valley, west of Little Rock, 
especially in the counties of Sebastian, Crawford, Franklin, 
Johnson and Pope. The apple is a sure crop in all of the 
northern counties of the State, 

The peach succeeds well all over the State, but does best 
south of the mountains. Quite an industry has sprung up 
along the St. Louis, Iron-Mountain & Southern Railway and 
the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad in the production and 
shipment of peaches to Northern markets. This industry will 
doubtless be greatly developed in the near future, as in addi- 
tion to these roads, the Texas and St. Louis Railway, foi its 
entire length in this State, passes through a section peculiarly 
adapted both in soil and climate, to the growth of the peach. 

Strawberries are grown to a very considerable extent for 
Northern markets along the line of the St. Louis, Iron-Moun- 
tain & Southern Railway, where this berry succeeds admirably, 



(15) 

being a sure crop, the vines yielding profusely, berries of fine 
size and flavor. Transportation facilities are good, as by means 
of railroads all Northern and Eastern markets can be speedily 
reached. The wild goose plum is extensively cultivated for 
shipment to Northern cities. In this State it is a sure crop. 

GR.\PES. 

Arkansas has a greater variety of native grapes than is to 
be found in any other State, and some are of extraordinary 
size and flavor. In the sandy soil of Hot Spring, Dallas, 
Ouachita and Calhoun is found the "old field" or Ouachita 
grape, which springs up in the fields which have ceased to be 
cultivated. It also grows in the woods upon spots where the 
timber is thinly scattered or is wanting. It is not a climber, 
and if not disturbed will grow into such a mass as to be almost 
impenetrable. It is rare to see it reach an altitude of four 
feet. The fruit is larger than the Concord grape. According 
to tradition this grape was carried by the Jesuits more than a 
century ago to Europe, and from it has descended some of the 
most celebrated grapes of that country. The future of this 
grape when treated by scientific and experienced viniculturists 
is very promising. Upon the sides of the mountains of south- 
west Arkansas particularly, in the county of Polk, is found a 
magnificent native grape. The fruit is of large size, light col- 
ored, and fine flavor. The bunches are long, but the berries are 
not very thickly set. In some localities this grape on account 
of its peculiar color and sweetness, is called the Persimmon 
grape. Among the innumerable varieties of native grapes is 
one similar in every respect to the Norton's Virginia Seedling, 
it will take an expert to distinguish the difference. This grape 
is generally diffused over the State. The muscadine is found 
throughout that portion of the State south of the mountains. 
Most of the cultivated varieties of grapes do well. The scup- 
pernong in the southern half of the State grows to perfection, 
needing no care but supports to meet its ever extending 
growth. A communication from Mr. Henry Shibley, a citizen 
of Crawford county and a gentleman of worth, cautious and 
careful in any statement he may make, is here attached. It 



(i6) 

shows the product of the grape in that county, which is about 
on an average with most of the counties of the State : 

Gen. D. McRae, Dear Sir: 

I visited Mr. Ed. Arkebauer and got his estimate and pro- 
duct of his vineyard. Mr. Arkebauer is rehable, and his state- 
ment can be abundantly verified : 

Gallons of Wine. 

Cynthiana (will yield per acre) 400 to 800 

Norton's Virginia 400 to 800 

Heman and Ives 400 to 800 

Elvira 300 to 800 

Delaware 200 to 700 

Pounds Per Vine. 
Table grapes (Campion) ripens about July 15, 

yields 1 5 to 25 

Perkins, ripens 15th to 25th of July, yields.. . 12 to 20 

Ives, ripens August 1st, yields 10 to 25 

Delaware, ripens August 1st, yields 5 to 15 

Wilmington red or Wyoming red, ripens from 
the 15th to the 25th of July, hangs on the 

vine well, yields 10 to 20 

A native grape, originated by Mr. George 

Beers, of this township, yields from 13 to 25 

A fine wine grape, producing from 500 to 900 
gallons of wine per acre, is given to over- 
bearing. 

Mr Arkebauer has many other varieties, but the above he 
considers the leading, reliable varieties, that he has tried. He 
has in fruit this year, More's early, Pocklington and Lady Wash- 
ington, they promise well. He has a Niagara, set out this last 
spring, that has matured 34 feet 2 inches of wood, and 14 feet 
of unmatured wood, without extra culture or manure. I got 
my first report mostly from the Thrushton vineyard. Their 
vines are set 8x10 feet apart, Mr. Arkebauer has his 6x8 feet. 
The above is considered ordinary, and may be relied upon as 
probable yields. But here is what Mr. Arkebauer has done 
this year, and is possible for any one to do. From 237 Norton 



(17) 

Virginia vines he has this year made 491 gallons of wine, (that 
is, will be wine) which is a fraction over two gallons to the 
vine, his vines as stated above, stands 6x8 feet, which gives 907 
vines to the acre, which at two gallons to the vine, gives 1,814 
gallons to the acre, or 40 barrels of 45 gallons each to the 
acre. 

Dear sir, the above I believe is perfectly reliable, and can, 
as stated above, be abundantly verified. 

Respectfully yours, etc., 

^ HENRY SHIRLEY. 
Vait Buren, Craicfard County, Ark., 
September r^, 188 j. 

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 

In all that section of the State south of the mountains, 
comprising two-thirds of the entire area of the State, cotton is 
the principal crop grown. It is not only grown upon the fer- 
tile and extensive bottoms along the numerous streams of the 
State where the product reaches as high as 2,000 pounds of 
seed cotton to the acre, but this crop is grown upon the up- 
lands as a principal crop. The yield upon the uplands ranges 
from 600 to 1,000 pounds of seed cotton to the acre. In the 
bottoms cotton is almost exclusively cultivated by colored 
labor, and upon the uplands by white labor. According to the 
census report of 1880, Arkansas produced more cotton to the 
acre, and at less expense, than any of the cotton States. In 
1880 Arkansas produced 608,256 bales. This crop was grown 
on 1,042,976 acres, while the Georgia crop of that year of 
814,441 bales, was produced upon 2,617,138 acres. Estimating 
the cost of production at $6 per acre, it amounted to ^9,444,972 
more in Georgia than in Arkansas to grow that crop. 

Not more than one-twentieth of the lands adapted to the 
growth of cotton has been brought into cultivation. Along 
with cotton corn is produced in sufficient quantities to supply 
the farm. In the past two years more attention has been paid 
to the production of corn. The acreage of this crop in the 
cotton-producing section has been largely increased. The 



(i8) 

average yield of corn in the bottom is about 35 bushels to the 
acre, upon the uplands about 20 bushels. Oats are grown very 
generally upon all farms cultivated by white labor. It is a sure 
crop, producing from 20 to 60 bushels, according to the fer- 
tility of the soil. 

WHEAT. 

In that portion of the State south of the mountains, wheat 
is a very uncertain crop, some years yielding extraordinary 
crops, but generally cut off by rust. Winter varieties are the 
only wheats that succeed, and so far 410 rust-proof winter wheat 
has been introduced, the Nicaraugua has been tried and suc- 
ceeds, but owing to its extreme hardness it cannot be manu- 
factured into flour by the ordinary country mills. 

POTATOES. 

Sweet and early varieties of Irish potatoes succeed well, 
producing on an average of 175 bushels to the acre. Two 
crops of the early rose variety are often grown in the same 
season. 

SORGHUM 

Is generally grown by white farmers, producing syrup 
sufficient to supply their families. It yields from 80 to 100 
gallons of syrup to the acre. 

FORAGE PLANTS. 

German millet is universally grown for forage and succeeds 
everywhere that the land is fertile. Its average yield is from 
two to four tons per acre. Milo maize is being grown by some 
of the farmers of the State, who speak in enthusiastic terms of 
its value as a forage plant. It can be cut three times in one 
season, yielding from three to four tons per acre, at cost of 
cutting, and is not affected by drouth. The blades of the corn 
plant, stripped from the stalk after the corn is matured, dried 
in the sun and tied into bundles, is universally used as forage 
under the denomination of fodder. 

In the section of the State north of the mountains and in the 
mountain valleys, corn, wheat, oats and tobacco are the princi- 
pal crops cultivated. These crops all succeed well. The aver- 



(19) 

age yield of corn is 40 bushels, wheat 15 bushels, oats 50 
bushels, tobacco 1,000 pounds to the acre. In this section 
timothy, orchard grass, herds grass and blue grass, together 
with clover, grows to perfection. The area of land laid down 
in grass in this section, already quite large, is constantly in- 
creasing. Much attention is paid to the growth of live stock, 
especially mules and horses. 

LABOR. 

There is a continued and increasing demand for agricul- 
tural labor; ;^I2.50 per month and board and lodging is the 
average price paid for farm labor. In growing cotton, espec- 
ially in the bottoms with colored labor, the share system is 
usually followed. Under this system the landlord furnishes the 
land, team, feed for the team, and the necessary farming tools. 
The tenant furnishes the labor for the making and gathering of 
the crop, each, party receiving one-half of the crop produced. 
Where the landlord furnishes the land alone, the tenant pays 
by way of rent one-fourth of the cotton and one-third of the 
corn produced. For money, lands rent from $1.^0 to ^8.00 per 
acre. 

STOCK RAISING. 

No State is better adapted to the growth of live-stock 
than Arkansas. The native grasses, as catalogued by Leo 
Lisquereux, number 155. While the extensive canebrakes 
found along the banks of the various rivers and bayous of the 
State furnish abundant v/inter pasture for cattle, and the mast 
furnished by the vast forests of oak and hickory timber, renders 
the raising of hogs a cheap and profitable business. In the 
hilly sections, sheep thrive, costing nothing but salt and herd- 
ing. In the northern sections of the State raising horses 
and mules is largely prosecuted, and is very remunerative. 
Heretofore, but little attention has been paid to improved 
breeds of cattle, but during the past and present year several 
herds have been brought in, and when acclimated arc healthy 
and prolific. The native cattle are grown with so little expi^nse 
and trouble, owing to the extensive ranges covered with nutri- 



(20) 

tious native grasses, some of which are green and furnish food 
for cattle throughout the winter, obviating the need of feeding, 
that the want of improved breeds has not been felt. Improved 
breeds of sheep, notably the Cotswold, have been introduced 
and thrive. Improved breeds of hogs have been brought into 
the State, such as the black berkshire, Jersey red, Poland, 
China, Chester and Essex. The black berkshire seems to 
succeed best. 

In fact, Arkansas is naturally adapted to stock-raising, 
possessing all of the essentials in this direction ; a climate 
neither too cold in winter nor too hot in summer, abundance of 
water, and the adaptability of its soil to the growth of the 
cereals and the cultivated varieties of grasses. Timothy is suc- 
cessfully grown throughout the White River Valley, returning 
large yields, and wherever it has been tried upon rich bottom 
lands it succeeds. Red-top or herd's grass succeeds in any 
part of the State where sowed upon low, damp land. The red 
clover either sowed with timothy or planted alone, returns re- 
munerative crops. In addition to these are the large number 
of nutritious native grasses, furnishing abundant pasturage 
from early spring until late in the fall. Among these are the 
Lespidesa, a low-growing, branching perennial plant, springing 
up in all waste, worn-out lands, and in the woods where the 
shade is not too great. It furnishes food for cattle, hogs and 
sheep early in the spring, and is but little affected by drouth. 
About the same time the Bermuda, in the southern portion o{ 
the State, makes its appearance. It is a creeping perennial 
grass, very nutritious, forming a dense sward, not injured by 
heavy grazing or being tramped, little affected by dry weather, 
furnishing excellent grazing for all kinds of stock from early 
spring until late in the fall. In May the crab-grass makes its 
appearance. It is an annual, indiginous grass, growing on 
both cultivated and uncultivated land. All kinds of stock are 
fond of it and thrive upon it. All that is necessary to secure a 
crop of hay of this grass is to plow and harrow a lot of land in 
the month of May, when the crab-grass will spring up densely 



(21) 

all over it, growing very rapidly, and yielding from one to one 
and one-half tons of excellent hay to the acre. 

Col. John P. Moore, one of our most successful farmers, 
speaking upon the subject of stock-raising in Eastern Arkansas, 
says: "I sometimes see in our agricultural papers expressions 
of doubt as to whether or not our climate and soil are expressly 
adapted to the production of the grasses in the highest degree, 
and, to satisfy myself, I have been measuring some to-day, and 
find my clover over six feet high, (common red clover), and 
the heads- of timothy ten to fourteen inches in length, and it 
does not require the selection of the largest of my clover to 
come up to this measure, but I can show it by acres. Now, 
this would seem to be proof sufficient that we have a country 
unsurpassed, not only for cotton, but especially for the grasses. 
This being so, then it follows that we have advantages that can- 
not be surpassed for stockraising." 

MANUFACTURES. 

The Tenth Census of the United States reports the num- 
ber of Arkansas factories at 1,202, giving employment to 4,557 
persons, with total investment o f ;^2,953,I30, and yielding an 
annual product of $6.'/i)6,\$g. Among these industries are 
flouring-mills, cotton-gins, foundries, cotton-seed oil mills, 
woolen mills, saw-mills, furniture, cooperage, barrel, agricul- 
tured, hone, whet-stone and marble works. In the absence of 
statistics it is impossible to state what the increase of manu- 
factures have been since the last census. Manufacturing enter- 
prises in Arkansas — though yet in its infacy — has unlimited 
possibilities. Here is to be found an immense quantity of tim- 
ber, cabinet timber, ship timber, hard timber for agricultural 
implements and furniture, and soft timber for building pur- 
poses, zinc, iron, copper, coal, slate, marble, potter's-clay, whet 
and grindstones ; transportation — both river and rail — leading 
to all great centers of trade, all of the elements and agencies 
necessary to maintain great manufacturing towns lacking but 
the strong hand of capital to set them in motion. 



(22) 

SPRINGS. 

Hot Springs, the waters of which have a world wide repu- 
tation, need no description. Tens of thousands of people in 
all parts of the universe, who have been restored to health by 
the water, testify to its virtue. The City of Hot Springs is 
easy of access by railroad, only sixty miles from Little Rock, 
the State capital, and tickets to the Springs can be purchased 
in all parts of the United States. 

The Mammoth Spring, in Fulton connty, is a phenomenon 
worthy of description. The main body of water, issuing from 
an opening 120 feet in circumference, flows uninterruptedly at 
the rate of 9,000 barrels a minute, affording valuable power for 
manufacturing purposes. From compression, probably, so 
large an amount of carbonic acid is held in solution that 
the surface of the wonderful fountain is in a continual state of 
effervescence. The Kansas City, Springfield & Memphis Rail- 
way passes close by and in full view of the Spring, and along 
the whole length of Spring river, a bold stream produced by 
this Spring, presenting a fine view of the many rapids on the 
river. 

The Mountain Valley Springs are located in Garland 
county, twelve miles northwest of Hot Springs, and are famous 
for the medical qualities of the water. It is shipped to all 
parts of the country, and the demand for it shows a rapid 
growth. 

Eureka Springs — These springs are one of the wonders of 
Arkansas. They are situated in Carroll county, and number 
forty-two, within the corporate limits of the city of Eureka, 
Tradition has long ascribed wonderful curative properties to 
these springs, but it was not until 1879 that they were brought 
into prominent notice, when Judge Sanders, of Carroll county, 
who had been afflicted for years with an erysipelatous 
condition, with dropsy supervening, was advised to try the 
efficacy of these springs. In the month of May, 1879. he 
accordingly took a camping outfit, with his family, and came to 
the spring. In a short time improvement was perceptible, and 
he remained ten weeks. During this time the erysipelatous 



( 23 ) 

condition entirely disappeared, the dropsical effusion ceased, 
and he was well. The news of Judge Sanders' improving con- 
dition spread throughout the country, and by July ist, 1879, 
there was quite a camp of invalids. On the 3d day of July, 
1879, the first house was built, and from that time the temporary 
box and log houses multiplied with wonderful rapidity. The 
news spread to adjoining counties, and each person cured sent 
word to others ; and in the fall of 1879. there were at least 2,000 
people here. Although fifty-five miles from the line of any 
railroad, and on government land, away from any settlement, 
the town grew rapidly. During the winter of 1879-80 the rush 
increased with a ratio that seemed wonderful. Still there were 
no regular lines of public conveyance, and the livery business 
at Pierce City, Mo., (the nearest railroad point), was taxed 
beyond its capacity to carry the travel. Visitors came in 
wagons, hacks, carriages, and all kinds of conveyances until the 
spring of 1880, when regular stage lines were put on, with a 
daily mail, and have continued since, the distance growing less 
as the railroad was constructed, until now the stages are among 
the things that have passed away. The railroad is completed, 
with daily trains, thus carrying visitors to the city direct from 
all points. Analysis : The waters of a number of these springs 
have been analyzed by analytical chemists of the highest repu- 
tation. We give the analysis of the Basin Spring, which was 
both quantitative and qualitative. These analysises were made 
by Profs. Potter and Riggs, of Washington University, St. Louis 
Mo., and by Messrs. Wright & Merrell, St. Louis, Mo. These 
gentlemen are chemists of eminence and ability. Each gallon 
of 23 1 cubic inches contains the following, viz ; Chloride sodium, 
0.19 grs. ; sulphate soda, 0.13 grs. ; bi-carbonate lime, 4.43 grs. ; 
bi-carbonate magnesia, 0.47 grs ; iron and alumina, 0.08 grs, ; 
silica, 0.31 grs. Total, 5.85 grs. Free ammonia, 0. 14 ; albumi- 
noid ammonia, 0.07 parts in million. The gaseous contents, 
as ascertained by Prof Juan H. Wright, of the firm of Wright 
& Merrell, is 28.52 cubic inches in each gallon of water. It is 
worthy of note that the gaseous contents of the water of 
Eureka Springs are remarkable from the fact that there is a 



(24) 

large proportion of nitrogen. The large proportion of nitro- 
gen is proof of a proportionately large amount of oxygen. 
These springs have obtained a national reputation for the cure 
of cancer, rheumatism, dyspepsia, and many other chronic 
diseases. 

In addition to these, are many other springs, possessing 
curative properties, such as the White Sulphur Springs, at 
Searcy, in White county ; the Armstrong and Griffin Springs, 
in the same county ; the Blanchard Springs, in Union county ; 
the Ravenden Springs, in Lawrence county, and Sugar Loaf 
Springs, in Cleburne county. 

HOMES FOR IMMIGRANTS. 

This pamphlet is not issued in the interest of any indi- 
vidual, land or railroad company having lands for sale, but by 
authority of Hon. Simon ?. Hughes, Governor of the State of 
Arkansas. Its object is to furnish authentic information to 
home-seekers, and to induce immigrants to settle upon the pub- 
lic lands and become citizens of the State. The information 
furnished has been carefully collected from official and other 
reliable sources. 

UNITED STATES HOMESTEAD ACT, 

Under this law every citizen and every foreigner who has 
declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States, 
is entitled to enter at the United States Land Office, i6o acres 
of land by paying a fee of ;^ 18.70. Of this amount, ;^I4 must 
be paid in cash, and the balance in five years. There is now 
subject to homestead entry in the State 5,525,680 acres. 

Arkansas has 2,000,000 acres of Jands which she offers to 
donate to actual settlers. The Donation Law of Arkansas pro- 
vides: 

Section 4,249 : "The right of the State to all lands 
other than town and city lots which have been forfeited to the 
State for non-payment of tax penalty and costs due them, may 
be donated to any adult citizen of the United States, in tracts 
not to exceed 160 acres to each applicant therefor ; provided, 
each sub-division of such tract shall be contiguous. 



(25) 

Sec. 4,251- Hereafter no person shall have the right oi 
donation to any of the lands of this State forfeited for the 
non-payment of taxes due thereon, except such persons as may 
actually settle and reside upon the lands so donated, and make 
the proof of improvement within eighteen months from the 
date of the certificate of donation. 

Sec. 4,252. Any person wishing to obtain such donation 
shall apply therefor to the Commissioner of State Lands, and 
at the same time shall file in the office of said commissioner 
his or her affidavit stating that he or she is over the age of 
twenty-one years, and that the land applied for is for the pur- 
pose of actual settlement, occupancy and cultivation by the 
applicant, and not with a view to speculation. 

Sec. 4,253. Upon filing with the Commissioner of State 
Lands a written application and the affidavit provided for in 
Section 4,252, such commissioner shall issue a certificate under 
his hand and seal setting forth that such applicant had applied 
for a donation of the right of the State to the land described 
in the application, which certificate shall further state that if 
within eighteen months from the date of the application the 
applicant shall present proof to the commissioner that he or 
she resides upon and has cleared, fenced and put in readiness 
for cultivation five acres of the same, shall be entitled to a deed 
from the State, conveying all the right, title, and interest of the 
State in and to the land mentioned in the certificate. 

Sec. 4,254. Each individual receiving such donation shall, 
upon completing the improvements required to be made upon 
said lands, obtain from some justice of the peace residing in the 
township where said land is situated, a certificate setting forth 
the quarter-section, township, range and county where said land 
is situated, that he has been within ten days next preceding the 
date of his certificate, on the identical tract described, and that 
the improvement on said land is a bona fide substantial im- 
provement, and shall state the number of acres cleared, fenced 
and ready for cultivation upon said land. And such certificate 
shall be evidence that the donor has complied with that part of 
the law requiring the land to be improved. 



( 26 ) 

Sec. 4,256. On presentation to him of the proof of im- 
provement, provided for in Section 4,254^ the Commissioner of 
State Lands shall execute to the donor, or to his heirs or assigns 
a deed under his hand and official seal, conveying all the 
right, title and interest of the State in and to the lands so 
donated, which deed shall have the same force and effect as 
other deeds which such commissioner is authorized by law to 
execute on behalf of the State to forfeited lands, 

• Sec. 4,257. The deed of the commissioner shall be evi- 
dence in all courts of a good and valid title in the donee, his 
heirs and assigns, and shall be evidence that the land has been 
regularly forfeited by the original owner ; that the State had 
properly donated its right thereto, and such evidence shall be 
received by the courts." 

The fee to the State is ;^io, to be paid at the time the cer- 
tificate of donation is issued, and ^i for the deed. Thus for 
;$ii a man or woman can acquire 160 acres of land. This land 
is also for sale by the State at fifty cents per acre. 

In addition, the State owns 817 acres of Seminary lands, 
16,000 acres of Saline lands, 15,000 acres of Internal Improve- 
ment lands, and 70,000 acres of Swamp land. The price of the 
Swamp and Seminary lands is ^i.oo per acre ; Internal Improve- 
ment and Saline lands, ;^i.25 per acre. The price of lands 
owned by individuals ranges all the way from fifty cents to 
fifty dollars per acre, owing to location and character of im- 
provements. 

Persons seeking homes, to obtain the great advantages 
present>„d by Arkansas to that class, are advised that they 
should come in person and carefully examine the land before 
purchasing, for while there are millions of acres of as fertile 
lands in this State as is to be found elsewhere, there is also a 
large amount that is unproductive and of little value. Immi- 
grants coming in should travel over the country, examine the 
land and crops, talk with the people who, when they find the 
immigrant is desirous of becoming a citizen, will show him 
every kindness and give him all necessary information. 

In addition to the lands owned by the United States and 



(27) 

the State, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway 
Company, the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railway Company, 
and the Little Rock, Mississippi River & Texas Railway Com- 
pany own large tracts of lands in this State which are offered 
for sale on easy terms. 

EXEMPTION LAWS. 

The exemption laws of the State are very liberal. The 
Constitution in Article IX provides: 

" Sec. 2. The personal property of any resident of this 
State who is married or the head of a family, in specific articles 
to be selected by such resident, not exceeding in value the sum 
of five hundred dollars in addition to his or her wearing 
apparel and that of his or her family, shall be exempt from 
seizure on attachment, or sale on execution, or other process 
from any court on debt by contract. 

Sec. 3. The homestead of any resident of this State, who 
is married or the head of a family, shall not be subject to the 
lien of any judgment or decree of any court, or sale under 
exemption or other process thereon, except such as may be 
rendered for the purchase money or for specific liens to labor- 
ers' or mechanics' liens for improving the same, or for taxes, or 
against executors, administrators, guardians, receivers, attor- 
neys for moneys collected by them and other trustees of an 
express trust for money due from them in their judiciary 
capacity. 

Sec 4. The homestead outside of any city, town or vil- 
lage, owned and occupied as a residence, shall consist of not 
exceeding 160 acres of land with the improvements thereon, to 
be selected by the owner, provided the same shall not exceed 
in value the sum of ^2,500, and in no event shall the home- 
stead be reduced to less than 80 acres without regard to value." 

The Constitution further provides, that if the owner of the 
homestead dies, it shall vest in the widow and minor children. 

TAXATION. 

By the provisions of the Constitution taxation for State 
purposes is limited to one per centum ; for county purposes, to 



(28) 

the half of one per cent, for current expenses, and half of one 
per cent, to pay indebtedness existing prior to the adoption of 
the Constitution in 1874. 

RAILROAD LANDS. 

The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company 
offers the following inducements to new settlers in Arkansas : 

The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Com- 
pany will sell its lands in Arkansas to new emigrant settlers at 
the following discounts : 

1st. When one-sixth of the purchase money is paid down, 
a discount of 8 per cent, from the old approved prices. 

2nd. When one-fourth of the purchase money is paid 
down, a discount of 16 per cent; and 

3d. When all the purchase money is paid down, a dis- 
count of 25 per cent. 

To those purchasing land of the company, a rebate of 
thirty-three and one-third per cent, on freight paid on the immi- 
grant's movables over its lines will be allowed. 

To settlers purchasing land adjoining that of the company, 
a rebate of twenty per cent. Proof of purchase and settle- 
ment must be made to the Land Commissioner, at Little Rock, 
within ninety days, accompanied by receipted freight bill. 

To those purchasing 80 acres of land from the company, 
and paying one-fourth cash, one-half the purchaser's fare ; 
and to those purchasing 40 acres, and paying all cash, the 
whole of the purchaser's fare paid over its line, will be deducted 
from amount of purchase money. 

USUAL EASY TERMS OF SALE ON ARKANSAS RAILWAY LANDS. 

Terms No. i. At time of purchase, and in the year fol- 
lowing the payment, is 6 per cent, interest on principal ; and in 
the third and each year thereafter, one-ninth of the principal, 
with 6 per cent, interest on the remainder until all is paid, giv- 
ing a credit of ten years. 

Terms No. 2. At time of purchase and each year there- 
after, one-sixth of the principal and one year's interest on the 



(29) 

remainder, at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum until all is paid, 
giving a credit of five years on deferred payment. 

Terms No. 3. At time of purchase, and in each year 
thereafter, one-fourth of the principal and one year's interest 
on the remainder, at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum until all 
is paid, giving a credit of three years. 

Terms No. 4. The whole purchase money down at time 
of purchase, and deed given to purchaser. 

Arkansas railroad lands are sold from ^2.50 upwards, with 
a general average of from ;$3 to $5 per acre for good farming 
land. 

The Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad Company owns - 
large bodies of land in the Valley of the Arkansas, and offers 
the following inducements to immigrants : 

CONTRIBUTED BY THOMAS M. GIBSON, LAND CONMISSIONER. 

HOMES IN THE ARKANSAS VALLEY, ARKANSAS 800,000 ACRES OF 

AGRICULTURAL AND TIMBER LANDS FOR SALE — PRODUCING 

ALL KINDS OF GRAIN, COTTON, FRUIT, STOCK, ETC. — A 

NAVIGABLE STREAM RUNNING THROUGH THE MIDDLE 

OF THE ENTIRE GRANT LONG CREDIT 

AND LOW RATE OF INTEREST 

The Lands of the great, magnificent Arkansas River Val- 
ley contain, in the highest degree, every condition for the suc- 
cess of agriculture. 

We have the most fertile soil, where all the manifold pro- 
ducts of the world can be raised in endless profusion. 

Cotton is the staple product, and yields in average one 
bale of about 500 pounds per acre, worth at present prices from 
;^40.oo to ;^50.oo. Corn grows as well as on the best lands of 
Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, and brings better prices. Tobacco 
grows most successfully on almost any kind of soil in the Ar- 
kansas Valley. Wheat, oats, rye and barley do well every- 
where on our Land Grant. Potatoes generally give two abun- 
dant crops during one season on the same piece of land. Peas, 
beans, turnips and garden vegetables of all kinds and varieties 
grow nowhere better, and are from three to four weeks earlier 
than in a more northern climate. 



(30) 

We have the most perfect climate, nowhere surpassed in 
regard to health, extremely mild in winter and not too warm in 
summer. 

We have on our lands, for building and other purposes, the 
best timber of all kinds and varieties in the United States. 

Our mighty forests contain eighteen species of oak, to- 
gether with hickory, ash, cottonwood, walnut, cherry, pecan, 
mulberry, sassafras, gum, sycamore, dogwood, cypress, cedar, 
pine, and other valuable timbers in immense quantities. 

We offer you, in winter and summer, a range for your cattle 
that certainly cannot be excelled in any other part of the 
Union. 

We have, in our navigable rivers, in our numberless creeks 
and streamlets, in our clear springs and wells, the purest and 
best water in the world. 

As a fruit country the Valley of the Arkansas can chal- 
lenge and successfully compete with any part of the American 
continent. 

We can raise the finest grapes in the Universe, and our 
apples, peaches, 'cherries, pears, strawberries and blackberries 
defy competition. 

We offer you on our Land Grant everywhere a good neigh- 
borhood, thickly settled with intelligent, law abiding, industrious 
husbandmen ; wherever you settle you will find abundant 
school and church facilities, and all tokens of civilization, pro- 
gress, thrift and prosperity. 

For your products you will have the best market in the 
world. The Little Rock & Forth Smith Railway, intersecting 
the whole territory, affords easy and direct communication with 
the chief marts of the country. 

And last, but not least, we will sell you these magnificent 
lands at the lowest figures and on the easiest terms. You can 
secure a splendid home on our Land Grant at the average price 
of $4. per acre, payable in instalments, extending over six or ten 
years. 

Besides the rare resources of the soil, the Arkansas Valley 



(31) 

possesses an inexhaustible wealth in its minerals — coal, iron, 
lead, gypsum, silver, zinc, salt, copper, etc. 

The coal found in the western portion of the State of Ar- 
kansas is unexcelled by any in the world. 

The Counties of Conway, Perry, Yell, Logan, Pope, John- 
son, Franklin, Crawford and Sebastian form, so to say, one rich 
bed of coal, superior to the bituminous " black diamond " of 
Illinois and Ohio, and for manufacturing purposes even pre- 
ferred to the renowned anthracite of Pennsylvania. 

The best of building stone — marble, granite, sandstone^ 
etc., are found in abundance in the territoiy comprising this 
Land Grant. 

In short, the Arkansas Valley is "just the thing " for every 
industrious, enterprising farmer. It is, all things considered, 
the loveliest, fairest, richest, healthiest part of the State, and is 
destined at no distant day to become one of the wealthiest 
and most populous portions of the country. 

The Little Rock, Mississippi River & Texas Railway Com- 
pany also own a large amount of finely timbered lands, which 
they offer at from ^i to ^3 per acre. 

TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES. 

The commercial value of everything depends upon its 
availability and upon the power it possesses of being readily 
and easily converted into commodities not possessed by its 
owner. The most fertile lands, inaccessible to market, have 
but little more value than sterile wastes. No section of the 
Southwest surpasses Arkansas in accessibility. By means of 
h.er numerous navigable rivers and railroads the products of 
her fertile soil, forests and mines can be speedily and cheaply 
transported to the principal markets of the country. 

RIVERS. 

The Mississippi river constitutes the eastern border of the 
State. The Arkansas, passing entirely across the State from 
west to east, divides it into two equal parts, while the White 
river. Little Red, Black and St. Francis rivers furnish constant 
navigation in the north-eastern part, and the Bayou Barthol- 



(32) 

omew, the Ouachita and Red rivers supply water-way trans- 
portation for the southern parts. These rivers flow through as 
fertile lands as are to be found anywhere, and empty into the 
Mississippi river. Vast forests of the most valuable timber is 
found in quantities along these streams, all of which are crossed 
by the railroads traversing the State, insuring cheap and speedy 
transportation. 

RAILROADS. 

This State has i,8oo miles of completed railroads, furnish- 
ing to the greater part of the State direct communication with 
all trade centres. North, East, South and West. And the 
Great Eastern Railway Company, now in process of construc- 
tion, beginning at Fayetteville — on the 'Frisco Railway Line — 
on the western border, and running east through the northern 
part of the State to the Mississippi River. When completed, 
this road will render accessible a populous and prosperous sec- 
tion remarkable for the salubrity of its climate, the fertility of 
its soil, and its rich deposits of minerals. The completed lines 
of railway in the State are : 

THE ST. LOUIS, IRON-MOUNTAIN & SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY. 

This road makes the direct connection between the rail- 
road system of Texas, seeking a northern outlet, and the 
numerous lines of railroad centering in the cities of St. Louis 
and Cairo. The route of each section was selected after care- 
ful and minute surveys, and a thorough examination of the 
country: and altogether, forming the shortest, cheapest and 
most direct line between the termini. The total number of 
miles of road in operation is 6y6. The position of the line 
will be found as valuable for local business as it appears for 
through business. It puts in communication thirty of the best 
counties of the State of Arkansas, running close to the county 
seats of fifteen counties, and passes through the capital, Little 
Rock. It has, at the present time constructed, and in contem- 
plation and course of construction, a number of branch roads, 
which will give communication with almost every part of the 
State. 



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It connects at St. Louis with all the roads to the North, 
East and West; at Cairo with the Illinois Central and the 
Cairo & Vincennes ; at Little Rock with the Little Rock & Fort 
Smith, the Memphis & Little Rock, and the Little Rock, Mis- 
sissippi River & Texas railways; at Malvern with the Hot 
Springs Railroad, and at Texarkana with the Texas & Pacific, 
and the general system of Texas railroads. 

It is the main artery for distributing immigrants and 
exchange of freight through a territory so vast as to be prop- 
erly called the Great Southwest. 

LITTLE ROCK & FORT SMITH AND THE LITTLE ROCK, MISSISSIPPI 
RIVER & TEXAS RAILWAY COMPANIES. 

These two roads now constitute one continuous line, com- 
mencing at the City of Fort Smith, situate on the Arkansas 
river at the western border of the State, and traversing the 
Valley of the Arkansas river from Fort Smith to within a short 
distance of the mouth of that stream, it crosses the Mississippi 
river and connects with the Mississippi Valley road, thus form- 
ing a direct and short line to the City of New Orleans. It 
crosses the Arkansas river at Little Rock, where it makes 
connections North and South with the St. Louis, Iron Mountain 
& Southern, and to the East with the Memphis & Little Rock 
road. At Fort Smith it makes connection with the 'Frisco 
road to all points in the Northwest, and at Pine Bluff, with the 
Texas & St. Louis road, it connects with all points in Texas 
and the East. This road also extends to Warren, the county 
seat of Bradley county, one of the southern counties of the 
State. It passes through the centre of the coal fields of the 
State, and through one of the best grain, fruit, and cotton pro- 
ducing regions to be found in the South. 

MEMPHIS & LITTLE ROCK RAILROAD. 

This road runs from the City of Memphis to Little Rock, 
connecting with the systems of roads centering at these two 
cities. It passes through one of the best cotton producing 
sections of the State. 



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KANSAS CITY, SPRINGFIELD & MEMPHIS RAILWAY COMPANY. 

This road, coming from Kansas City in Missouri, runs 
across the north-eastern part of the State to Memphis. It 
crosses one of the best agricultural, as well as timbered, parts 
of the State, and furnishes an outlet to the prairies of the 
North-west for the lumber produced from the vast forests of 
valuable timber through which it passes. 

ST. LOUIS & SAN FRANCISCO RAILWAY COMPANY. 

This road, coming from the City of St. Louis, enters the 
State in the county of Benton, passing through it, Washington 
and Crawford counties, reaches Fort Smith in Sebastian county, 
connecting with the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railway at that 
city, thus making, connection'.with New Orleans, Texas and the 
East. This road passes through the main apple producing part 
of the State. 

BATESVILLE & BRINKLEY RAILROAD. 

This road starts from the town of Brinkley in Monroe 
county, where it connects with the Memphis & Little Rock and 
the Texas & St. Louis, by which all points East, West, North 
and South are reached. It passes through Woodruff county 
into Jackson county, and is now being constructed into New- 
port, where it will connect with the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & 
Southern Railway Company ; but a few miles remain to be 
constructed. This road develops one of the best agricultural, 
as well as best timbered sections of the State. 

ARKANSAS MIDLAND RAILROAD COMPANY. 

This road starts from the town of Helena on the Missis- 
sippi river and runs through Phillips and Monroe counties to 
Clarendon, where it connects with the Texas & St. Louis 
Railway Company. This road runs through a populous and 
very fertile country. 

ARKANSAS & LOUISIANA RAILROAD COMPANY. 

This road starts from the town of Hope on the St. Louis, 
Iron Mountain & Southern, and runs to the town of Nashville, 
in the county of Howard. This road makes accessible one of 



(35) 

the best sections of the State. It is in contemplation to con- 
tinue this road to the Indian Territory west, and to the city of 
Shreveport, in Louisiana, to the southeast. 

SEARCY & WEST POINT RAILROAD COMPANY. 

This is a short hne connecting the town of Searcy with the 
town of West Point, situated upon Little Red river, navigable 
for steamboats at any season. This road crosses the St. Louis, 
Iron Mountain & Southern, making connections with all points. 

HOT SPRINGS RAILROAD. 

This, road starts out from the town of Malvern, on the St. 
Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, and runs to the 
celebrated Hot Springs, making that point accesible by rail 
with all parts of the Union. 

THE TEXAS & ST. LOUIS RAILWAY, (tHE COTTON BELT ROUTE.) 

Starting at Cairo, (111.,) the line crosses the Mississippi 
river on transfer steamers to Bird's Point. From here a south- 
westerly direction is taken through the counties of Mississippi, 
New Madrid and Dunklin (in Missouri), which are noted for 
their timber as well as for their productive soil, corn and wheat 
being their principal crops, the former averaging sixty bushels 
and the latter twenty bushels to the acre. This is also the 
farthest point north at which cotton is raised to any extent, 
considerable being shipped from Maiden, the most important 
town in southeast Missouri, After passing through these coun- 
ties, the St. Francis river, which is here the boundary line be- 
tween Missouri and Arkansas, is crossed. The road follows the 
eastern slope of Crawley's Ridge, through the counties of Clay, 
Green and Craighead. 

Crawley's Ridge forms the divide between the waters of 
the St. Francis and White rivers, and is composed for the most 
part of silicious clay and marl, resting on a bed of gravel, and 
its reputation as a thoroughly reliable fruit country is estab- 
lished. Grains, grasses, fruits and vegetables are prolific in this 
section ; here also is found the only poplar in the State in large 
belts. 



. (36) 

Jonesboro, the county seat of Craighead county, is a thriv- 
ing town. At this point the hne crosses the Kansas City, 
Springfield & Memphis Railway, and makes connection with 
that line for Memphis, Kansas City, Springfield, Fort Scott and 
intermediate points. From here the line passes through Poin- 
sett, Woodruff and Monroe counties, all of which abound with 
timber, to Brinkley, where connection is made with the Mem- 
phis & Little Rock Railroad to and from Memphis and Little 
Rock, thence to Clarendon, the county seat of Monroe county, 
and an important lumbering point. Here the road crosses the 
White river, over a substantial iron bridge, and, leaving the 
bluffs, intersects the magnificent prairie counties of Prairie and 
Arkansas. Here the Grand Prairie bursts suddenly upon the 
view, an inland sea of level land among the mighty groves, 
stretching its vernal carpet on either side, here and there a 
mighty monarch of the forest reaching its stalwart arms o'er the 
bowing grass beneath. 

On the highest point of Grand Prairie and just midway 
between the White and Arkansas rivers are located the towns 
of Parham and Stuttgart, in the heart of the finest farming 
country in the State. Eight miles to the southwest is located 
the new town of Goldman. 

From Goldman to the Arkansas river the road crosses 
Bayou Meta, Wabbaseca Bayou and Crooked Bayou, along 
which and in the bottom lands of the Arkansas are found the 
richest cotton lands in the United States. The next point of 
importance is the City of Pine Bluff, beautifully situated upon a 
plateau upon the banks of the Arkansas river, surrounded by 
pine lands. It is quite an attractive city, with excellent drain- 
age, fine schools and many churches, and is unsurpassed for 
health by any city in the State. Pine Bluff is the county seat 
of Jefferson county and has a population of about 6,000. A 
new era has dawned upon this town since the completion of the 
" Cotton Belt Route," and it is destined at no distant day to be 
one of the most important cities in the State. 

Leaving Pine Bluff, the road enters the famous Yellow Pine 
region, which extends south from the Arkansas river more than 



(37) 

150 miles into the great State of Texas, passing through Dor- 
sey, Calhoun, and Ouachita counties. 

Camden, the county seat of Ouachita county, is the next 
important point. This is one of the oldest settled counties in 
the State. Its soil is good, ar|^ Camden has for many years 
controlled a large portion of the shipments of southern Arkansas 
and eastern Texas. One saw mill located at this point has a 
daily capacity of 6,500 feet. From Camden the line continues 
on to McNeil, in Columbia county. From here a branch line 
has been built to the town of Magnolia to meet the require- 
ments of the immense cotton shipments from that section. 
Leaving McNeil, the main line passes on through Columbia, 
Lafayette and Miller counties to Texarkana, 418 miles from 
Bird's Point, and the terminus of the Missouri and Arkansas 
Division of the "Cotton Belt Route." 

Texarkana, situated on the boundary line between Texas 
and Arkansas, is a thriving and prosperous city of 6,000 
inhabitants. 

The Texas Division of the " Cotton Belt Route " extends 
from Texarkana through Waco to Gatesville, Texas. 

HEALTH AND CLIMATE. 

In point of health Arkansas, with the exception of the 
swamps along the streams, will compare favorably with any 
part of the United States. Even in the swamps the sickness is 
of a mild character, yielding readily to medical treatment. In 
the hilly and mountainous sections it is exceptionally healthy. 
No section is so blessed with health-restoring springs, many of 
which are renowned for their curative properties throughout the 
nation. The happy location of the State between extreme heat 
and cold avoids the vicissitudes of the weather with which so 
many sections are afflicted. The mean average temperature 
is 60 ° Fahrenheit, the mean average rainfall is 49 inches. 

SCHOOLS. 

Arkansas has a well organized public school system, with 
a State Superintendent of Public Instruction and a County 
Examiner in each county. Provision is made in the constitu- 



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tion of the State for the support of public schools, requiring an 
annual tax of 20 cents upon each ;^ioo of taxable property, to 
be levied and collected for that purpose, in addition to a per 
capita tax of ;^i upon each adult male inhabitant. The territory 
of each county has been laid off by the respective county courts 
into convenient school districts, which are managed by three 
directors elected by the electors of the district. In addition to the 
amount raised by State tax, each school district by vote can levy a 
tax of not in excess of 50 cents upon the hundred dollars for 
the support of its school. A large portion of the districts vote 
the full amount allowed by law, paying in the aggregate for 
this laudable purpose seventy cents on the hundred dollars of 
taxable property together with a poll tax of one dollar. In 
towns and densely populated neighborhoods this enables the 
schools to be kept open for nine months in each year. In 
the sparcely settled sections the schools are kept open for so 
long as the amount of money available will justify. All are 
kept open at least three months in each year. Graded schools 
have been established in all of the cities and in the larger towns 
of the State. The Arkansas Industrial University, a part of 
the public school system of the State, is located at the town of 
Fayetteville, in the county of Washington, For beauty and 
healthfulness its location is unsurpassed. The buildings are 
handsome, commodious and admirably arranged for conve- 
nience and comfort. They are situated upon an elevated pla- 
teau overlooking the town of Fayetteville, and furnishing a view 
of the Ozark Mountains unsurpassed in beauty and sublimity. 
The faculty of the University has been lately reorganized, and 
under the management of Col. George M. Edgar, its energetic, 
capable and scholarly president, it promises to attain high rank 
as an educational institution. The medical department of this 
University is established at Little Rock with a full corps of pro- 
fessors composed of men eminent in the medical profession. 
The course of study embraces three years, and is very thorough. 
In addition to the State University as a part of her public 
school system, the State has established at Pine Bluff a normal 
school for the education of colored teachers. The building is 



(39) 

one of the handsomest educational edifices in the State, con- 
structed of brick, with slate roof and granite trimmings. This 
institution is now in successful operation. 

Under the school system in this State the races are kept 
distinct, the colored children being taught in schools separate 
from the whites, and receive for their support a pro rata of the 
fund raised by taxation for the support of the public schools of 
the State. 

Besides the public schools, industrial university, etc., the 
State has established and is fostering a school for the blind and 
for deaf mutes, both of which are located at Little Rock. 
These institutions are well managed under competent, exper- 
ienced teachers, and are accomplishing much good. 

In addition to the public schools and university there is a 
large number of private colleges and schooL, among which 
may be mentioned the Methodist College, at Little Rock, under 
the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church; the Philander 
Smith College, at the same place, for the education of the col- 
ored race, and the Arkansas College, established at Batesville, 
under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church many years 
ago. Under the management of Dr. L J. Long, D. D., its pres- 
ident, and one of the most successful and thorough educators 
to be found anywhere, this institution has constantly grown 
in popularity, and is a grand factor in the education of the 
youth of the State. The private colleges and schools are 
largely attended. 

INSANE ASYLUMS. 

The State has also established an asylum for her insane^ 
and furnishes it a liberal support. The buildings and its sur- 
roundings, the medical and other attendance is so perfect as to 
leave but little to be desired towards the treatment and com- 
fort of the unfortunates who are there confined. 

SOCIAL FEATURES. 

The tune and dialogue of the Arkansas Traveler, which 
has attained wide circulation, has created the impression abroad 
that the citizens of this State are of the kindred or the lineal 



(40) 

descendants of the fiddling squatter, that they are a whisky- 
drinking, slothful, ignorant race. In addition to this, persistent 
misrepresentation has taught the world to believe that the 
bowie-knife and pistol are indispensable parts of the dress of an 
Arkansas gentleman, that life is insecure, and murders of fright- 
ful frequency. How strong this impression we discover from 
the surprise expressed by persons from distant States upon 
their first arrival. They are astonished to find how different a 
person the true Arkansas man is from the ideal Arkansian that 
he fully believed in until he saw for himself For honesty, 
morality, intelligence and observance of the laws, the citizens 
of this State will average with the citizens of any State in the 
Union. 

The law inflicts a severe penalty for carrying a pistol, 
butcher-knife, sword-cane or brass knuckles, as a weapon, and 
there is no statute more rigidly enforced. Prohibition of the 
sale or gift of intoxicating liquors attains in a large portion of 
the State. The question as to whether intoxicating liquors shall 
be sold or given away in certain localitfes is fixed by a petition 
to the proper county court, and the law clothes all adult females 
with the right to sign the petition, and if a majority of the 
adult inhabitants residing within the prescribed territory sign 
the petition the county judge is required to enter an order 
prohibiting the licensing the sale of intoxicating liquors 
within such prescribed limits. In many of the largest and most 
populous counties in the State there is not a single dram-shop 
or licensed seller of intoxicating liquors ; the penalty for violat- 
ing the law. is so severe that but few attempt it. Churches and 
schoolhouses are to be found in every neighborhood. Nearly 
all Christian denominations are to be found in the state. The 
people of Arkansas have ever been distinguished for their kind- 
ness and hospitality to strangers. They fully realize the 
importance of inducing immigration into the State, to enable 
them to bring the waste lands into cultivation, and develop the 
great natural resources of the State now lying neglected, and 
they gladly welcome every one coming to find a home in its 
borders. It makes no difference where he is from, or which 



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side he took in the war between the States. The prejudice and 
animosity arising from the war has passed away forever. Now 
the question is, what sort of a man is he ? not what side he was 
on during the war. Settlers from the north, who served through 
the war in the Federal army and who are Republicans, have 
settled in all parts of the State, and are treated socially and 
otherwise, just as other neighbors by the communities in which 
they reside. The tivo races are progressing harmoniously. For 
years the colored people have gravitated to the towns and to 
the rich alluvial lands along the rivers. The larger number are 
to be found along the valley of the Arkansas and the eastern 
and southern portion of the State. There are fewer colored 
people to be found in half the counties of this State than can 
be found in an equal number of counties in the State of Ohio. 

SKETCH OF THE BEAR MOUNTAIN MINES. 
(Contributed by A. M. Beam.) 

Gen. D. M. McRae— Dear Sir: 

In answer to yours of September lOth, I will say Bear is 
the headquarters of Bear Mountain mining camp, (which is 
twelve miles square), and lays in Montgomery and Garland 
counties. Bear is fifteen miles west of Hot Springs. It is 
situated at the foot of Bear Mountain, of the Ozark range, and 
is, geologically speaking, in a metamorphic basin, and is 
traversed by numerous veins of metaliferous ores of gold, sil- 
ver, lead, iron, etc., silver and lead predominating. The ore 
gangue is principally an iron-stained, partially crystallized, sili- 
cate quartz. The general lay of the country is hilly and moun- 
tainous, some of the mountains reaching an altitude of 1,285 
feet, fine timber nearly everywhere, with an abundance of clear 
mountain spring water. The main mines are first, the Mam- 
moth, a stupendous lead running northeast and southwest at 
twenty degrees, and dipping to the north at forty-five degrees. 
This lead is traceable for quite a distance and is opened by first 
a shaft 6x8 ft. and 60 ft. deep, by the C. H. Jacob's Mining 
Company. They have some 250 tons of ore on the dump, 
which give an average assay of ;$I3 per ton. Shaft No. 2, by 
the Bear Mountain Mining Compony, 4x6 ft. and 15 feet deep, 



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has the same characteristics as the shaft above, except not so 
much iron oxide, but more quartz. There are a great many 
shafts ten to twelve feet on this lode with no change worthy of 
notice. Then the Black Diamond ranks next, which is owned 
and operated by the Bear Mountain Mining Company, who 
have a tunnel 50 feet (with an air shaft) and a shaft on the lead 
50 feet deep, have 75 tons of ore on the dump that will give an 
average of ;$I4 per ton, and 75 tons that will give an average of 
^10 per ton. The strike and dip is northeast and southwest, 
with a dip of forty-five degrees to the north, with good solid 
walls. The Spanish Lode comes next. It is owned by the 
Bear Mountain Mining Company and the Arkansas, Kentucky 
S^ Texas Mining Company. The Arkansas, Kentucky & Texas 
have a shaft 35 feet deep, with 75 tons of ore on the dump that 
gives an average assay of ^5 in silver, i^i-SO in gold and 30 per 
cent. lead. The Bear Mountain Company have a shaft 20 feet, 
with cross-cuts, etc., with an average assay of ^5 in silver and 25 
per cent, of lead, with ;^i to $2 in gold. The Lost Louisiana 
mine is also on this lead. It is owned by the Riverton Mining 
Company, of Riverton, Nebraska, and the Old Spanish digging 
is 75 feet deep and 75 feet in diameter at the top. They have 
sunk a shaft 55 feet deep, commencing nearly in the bottom of 
the old digging and still are in loose ground, and a cross-cut of 
40 feet shows that they have not got out of the old work yet. 
They have here a great many curiosities in the extent of the 
cell work, and have the finest specimens imaginable of pure, 
crystallized litterets of lead in leaf, for their ore assays from ;^3 
to $S in silver, $2 in gold, and from 10 to 95 per cent, of lead, 
with immense bodies of ore in sight in every direction. The 
next is the Fawn, owned by the Riverton and Boston Mining 
Companies, and have considerable development work done, and 
the ore assays from ^5 to ;^2i per ton. The Empire, owned 
by the Bear Mountain Mining Company, has considerable 
development work and assays ^20 in silver and 25 per cent, 
lead. This mine is capable of producing ore at an outlay of 
;^i.25 per ton. The Mississippi Mining Company own an ex- 
tension on the Empire, and are making calculations to pusli 



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their work rapidly. The Ozark and Black Chief are new dis- 
coveries and assay from ^5 to $6 in silver and 25 to 30 per 
cent, in lead, and are five nice, clean lodes with an abundance 
of ore in sight, and there is an offer made to put up a smelter 
on the Ozark by a Hot Springs company. The Bear Mountain 
Smelting Company was organized in December, and have fire- 
brick made and other materials on the ground for the erection 
of a lo-ton reverbatory furnace. They put up a small test fur- 
nace for making matting tests and have made numerous runs 
with good success. They sent the matt to Omaha for refining 
and the report was very satisfactory. But there is a new inven- 
tion, by C. F. Hartsfeldt, of Newport (Ky.) that seems so far 
in advance of the common reverbatory furnace, that in all prob- 
ability they will put in one of those instead of the reverb^itory 
intended at the start. 

Bear is a neat little burg of lOO souls, with nice clear spring 
water, some sulphur, some iron, and as healthy a location as 
can be well found. 

SKETCH OF COAL MINES OF STIEWEL & CO. 
Gen. D. McRae — Dear Sh : 

In compliance with your request for information on the 
subject of our coal mines, would state that we own the Coal 
Hill coal mines, a shaft situated at Coal Hill, in Johnson 
county. We are working same with steam power, said mine 
having a depth of 78 feet ; thickness of vein, 48 inches ; present 
capacity, 250 tons per day. We are now sinking an additional 
shaft to connect with the above, half a mile further west ; depth 
of shaft will be 130 feet, and are putting same in a condition 
for an output of 500 tons per day. The above coal is a free- 
burning semi-anthracite coal, containing over 90 per cent, of 
fixed carbon and about i per cent, of sulphur. 

We also own and are now occupying the Eureka coal 
mine, also situated in Johnson county, a shaft 58 feet in depth, 
vein 42 inches, worked by machinery ; present capacity 200 
tons per day. This coal is more of an anthracite. This coal 
has also over 90 per cent, of fixed carbon, and nearly free of 
sulphur. 



(44) 



We also own the Excelsior coal mine ; shaft 55 feet in 
depth, vein 42 inches ; and the Peacock coal mine, a slope all 
situated in Johnson county, on the line of the Little Rock & 
Fort Smith Railway, and within two miles of the Arkansas 
river. 

Our coals are all smokeless, and are used for all kinds of 

stoves, grates and steaming purposes, and are used altogether 

by the L. R. & F. S. Ry., and the L. R., M. R. & T. Ry., and by 

actual tests for steaming purposes two tons of our coal has 

proved equal to three tons of the Pittsburg coal. 

Truly yours, 

STIEWEL & CO. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY THOMAS LAFFERTY.) 

In writing of the coal interests of Arkansas, the works of 
the Ouita Coal Company deserve special mention. The re- 
organization of this company last year with a capital of ;^I00,000 
and practical men to manage its affairs, has already opened up 
a very large business that is new to the States. 

The Ouita coal is mined in Pope county, near Russellville, 
and is a very superior domestic coal, rich in carbon, free from 
smoke, soot, slate or other impurities, and is, perhaps, the best 
semi-anthracite coal found in the United States, as the following 
comparative analysis will show : 

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NOTED COALS. 

BY CHAUVENET & BLAIR, CHEMISTS, ST. LOUIS, MO. 



COAL. 



OUITA 

Pittsburg — Bituminous. . . . 

Big Mud<iy 

Meadows 

Pacific 

Pennsylvania — Anthracite. 



Water. 


Volatile. 


1.77 


12.66 


1..31 


36.61 


5.88 


32.81 


6.75 


36.80 


4.85 


39.81 


1.00 


11.00 



Fixed Carbon. I Sulpha. i Ash. Color of Ash 



80.46 

54.17 
57 66 
42.00 
45. 30 
84.00 



O 78 

0.77 
0.75 
4.91 
0.76 
1. 00 



6 . 11 Xight Brown . 

7.91 Gray 

3.65 

14.45 Light Brown. 
10. 00! White. 

4. 00, Whitish. 



It will take the place of anthracite in grates, stoves and 
furnaces, and is the leading coal for domestic purposes wherever 
introduced. 

The Ouita Coal Company are also the owners and oper- 
ators of the celebrated Coal Hill steam coal, mined at the 
AUaster Slope, three miles from Coal Hill, in Johnston county 
For steam purposes this coal is not excelled by any coal mined 



(45) 

in this country, and being free from smoke, makes it still more 
desirable. 

It is now used by most of the railroads in this section, in- 
cluding the Little Rock & Fort-Smith Railroad, the Little Rock, 
Mississippi River & Texas Railroad, Little Rock Junction 
Railroad, Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, St. Louis & San 
Francisco Railroad, Louisville, New Orleans & Texas Rail- 
road. It is also used by the ferry companies and steamboats, 
and for steam purposes generally, in preference to all other 
coal. 

It is also shipped in large quantities to New Orleans and 
the Lower Mississippi, where it is destined in the near future to 
supplant in a great measure the soft and smoke-producing coals 
that find a market there. 

The Montana mine, the third mine owned and worked by 
the Ouita Coal Company, is situated near Spadra, in Johnston 
county. Like the Ouita and Coal Hill, it is smokeless, and is 
an excellent coal for domestic purposes. 

ADVANTAGES. 

We claim for the Arkansas coal this advantage over any 
coal found in the South or West. 

It will burn in any stove, grate or furnace designed for 
either bituminous or anthracite coal. 

It makes no smoke or soot. 

It produces more heat than can be derived from wood or 
bituminous coal. 

It is the only coal found west of the Alleghanies that can 
be used in Argand, air-tight and self-feeding stoves. 

It is richer in fixed carbon than any coal found in the 
South or West. 



(46) 



Sketches of Counties. 



ARKANSAS COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY HON. W. H. HALLIBURTON.) 

Arkansas county is situated between the Arkansas and 
White rivers, both navigable for steamboats throughout the 
year. Area, about 900 square miles. Population — white, 6,000 ; 
colored, 3,000. 

The face of the county is generally level, with no hills or 
mountains; one-third being alluvial, one-eighth timbered up- 
lands, the remainder being prairie. Not more than seven per 
cent, of the lands are improved. There is subject to home- 
stead entry about 11,520 acres; to donation, about 12,000 acres. 

Corn, cotton, oats, millet, sweet and Irish potatoes and field 
peas are the principal crops grown. The average yield per acre 
of seed cotton is, upon uplands from 500 to 800 pounds, and 
from 1,000 to 1,600 pounds is produced upon the bottoms; corn 
from 20 to 25 bushels upon the uplands, and 20 to 40 bushels 
on the bottoms; wheat, from 10 to 15 bushels; tobacco, 1000 
pounds; oats, from 30 to 40 bushels; Irish and sweet potatoes, 
200 bushels; turnips, 400 bushels; sorghum, [50 gallons of 
syrup; field peas, from 15 to 30 bushels per acre, generally 
grown with corn. 

Owing to the abundance of native grasses, but little of the 
cultivated grasses are grown. Clover and timothy are both 
grown upon a small scale and do well, the clover producing 
3,000 pounds and timothy 2,000 pounds per acre. 

Apples, peaches, pears, plums, apricots, as well as the 
smaller fruits, succeed well, especially peaches, pears and plums. 
But little attention has been paid to growing grapes, but such 
as have been tried do well. 

This county is admirably adapted to the growth of live 
stock, owing to the abundance of the native grasses, and the 



(47) 

cheap hay furnished by the large extent of unoccupied prairie. 
Large numbers of native cattle are grown at nominal expense. 
So far, little effort has been made to introduce improved breeds; 
a few males have been brought in. The river bottoms of this 
county are exceedingly fertile, capable of being made into 
stock farms the equal of those of any country, as all varieties of 
the cultivated grasses grow luxuriantly. 

In the timbered portions of the county all varieties of the 
oak are found, together with ash, cypress, sycamore and red 
gum. Considerable bodies of white oak and cypress of fine 
quality are to be found in proximity to rail and river transport- 
ation. 

The Texas & St. Louis Railway passes diagonally through 
the county, furnishing communication with all sections of the 
country. 

Free common schools are established in each township, 
numbering about twenty, and are kept open six months of each 
year. 

Liiproved land ranges in price from ^5.00 to 1^25.00 per 
acre, unimproved from ;^i.oo to ^5.00 per acre. 

In the bottoms the soil is dark sandy and black or red 
buckshot, uplands dark clay loam, prairie dark gray sand; on 
portions the soil is grayish yellow, or cold gray color upon a 
tenacious clay. 

This county is well watered, having a large river on two 
sides and several large bayous running through it. The water 
used for domestic purposes is mostly from wells ; some of it is 
hard and some soft. A few springs furnishing a clear and very 
cold water are found. 

There are some twenty church-houses in the county, owned 
by Methodists, Baptists, Catholics and other denominations. 

The towns are DeWitt, the county seat, population, 600; 
St. Charles, population 400 ; Arkansas Post, 1 50 ; Stutgart, 
population 350; Goldman, population 250; Mount Adams, 
population 150. 



(48) 
ASHLEY COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BV L. M. KEITH ESQ.) 

Ashley county lies in the southern tier, adjoining the State 
of Louisiana, is removed only by the narrow strip of Chicot 
county, from the Mississippi river, and is bounded or traversed 
by the here navigable waters of the Ouachita, the Saline and 
Bayou Bartholomew. The numerous tributaries of these 
streams afford ample water facilities for purposes of farming and 
stock-raising. The northern border is but ten to twenty miles 
distant from the line of the Little Rock, Mississippi River & 
Texas Railway. The area of the county is about 939 square 
miles. The surface is generally level, one-fourth being of a 
strictly alluvial character and extremely fertile, another fourth 
consisting of prairie, and the remaining of uplands of varied 
and fairly productive soil. Population, 12,000, about equally 
divided between the white and colored races. One-fifth of the 
land is improved. Ample opportunities present themselves for 
purchase of excellent farms, at very low prices, improved land 
selling at from $1 to ;^io per acre, unimproved at from 50 cents 
to $2, and the United States having 64,720 acres open to home- 
stead entry, the State 100,000 open to donation, and the Little 
Rock, Mississippi River & Texas Railway Company 30,040 
acres open, like the others, for sale. 

The crops generally grown are corn, cotton, potatoes, oats, 
wheat, sorghum, sugar cane and millet. 

The average yield per acre, as reported, is as follows : 
Seed cotton, on hill land, 500 pounds; on bottom, 1500 pounds; 
corn, 25 to 45 bushels, for upland and bottom respectively; 
sweet potatoes, 150 bushels; sorghum, 150 gallons syrup ; field 
peas, 20 bushels. 

Apples, peaches, plums and pears succeed well ; while the 
Scuppernong and other southern varieties of grapes flourish. 

The county is admirably adapted to stockraising; though 
but little attention has as yet bee^i given to the breeding of fine 
stock, and, except German millet, no cultivated grasses are 
grown, the native product being good and abundant, and cattle 
requiring but little feed in the mild winters. 



(49) 

One-fourth of the area of the county produces pine timber; 
abundance of cypress is found in the many large brakes, and 
there are also white and other varieties of oak, walnut, sweet 
and black gum, and hickory in considerable quantities. The 
facilities for rafting are as great as could be desired. 

Beds of lignites or brown coal are found upon the banks 
of the Saline and Ouachita, with ever}^ advantage of easy ac- 
cess and transportation to local and Mississippi river markets. 

Soft water for drinking purposes is easily obtained from 
springs and wells throughout the county; and there are several 
sulphur springs, valuable for the cure of malarial disease. 

Besides the High School at Hamburg, there are some 6o 
schools in operation, which are kept open 3 months in the year, 
and 40 to 50 churches of the Methodist, Baptist and Presby- 
terian denominations. 

Hamburg, the county seat, with a population of 8oo„ 
Poplar Bluff with 150, and Portland with 75, are the principal 
towns. 

BAXTER COUNTY. 

(C0NTRII3UTED BY A. C. HULLS ESQ ) 

Baxter county lies in about 36 degrees north latitude, and 
15 degrees of longitude v/est from Washington City. It is 
bound on the east by Fulton and Izard, on the west by Marion, 
on the south b}^ Stone, and on the north by Ozark county, 
Missouri. 

The area of the county is about 600 square miles, and its 
population according to the census of 1880, numbered over 
6,000, which has rapidly increased from that time to the present. 

The topography varies from the rocky hills so common to 
the Northwest, to the undulating level valley lands of the 
various streams flowing through the county, furnishing almost 
every conceivable variety of scenery and surface formation. 
The climate is admirably mild and pleasant and not subject to 
excessive heat or cold. 

There are but few, if indeed any counties that can excel or 
equal Baxter county in (quantity and quality of pure sparkling 
streams, and everlasting springs and w^ells. 

Timber, for fencing, fuel and manufacturing purposes is 
abundant, and is found in almost every variety known to this 
climate. The various oaks, hickory, ash, walnut, cedar and 
sweet gum are the most abundant. 

Few counties in Arkansas combine more and greater ad- 
vantages than Baxter. The lands are diversified, generally rich 
and productive, and adapted to corn, cotton, wheat, oats, 
clover, tobacco, beans, potatoes, and the various grasses, and 
every variety of fruit that the latitude will permit. In a great 
portion of the county the uplands are limestone and yield in 
crops almost equal to the river bottorhs. The county through- 



(50) 

out is well watered, abounding in springs, creeks and river so 
clear, that their pebbly bottoms may be seen from side to side. 
Several of the larger streams afford exceptional advantages for 
manufacturing purposes, and the finest locations of vast water 
power lie idle and vacant. I am confident that undeveloped 
mineral of superior quality and vast extent abounds in different 
portions of the county, and capital alone is needed to develop 
the same. The general face of the county is mountainous, 
about one-half mountainous and hills, the other half is level 
uplands and bottom lands. About one-half of our county is 
improved, and almost all the unimproved lands belong to the 
United States, and some little to the State. We have no 
railroads. 

The average yield per acre of the different products are as 
follows: Corn, 35 to 50 bushels on upland, bottom lands, 50 
to 65 ; cotton, on uplands, 800 to 1200 pounds, on bottom, 1200 
to 2000; wheat, upland, 12 to 18 bushels, bottom, 16 to 20; 
tobacco, 1000 to 1200 pounds; oats, upland, 35 to 50 bushels, 
bottom, 50 to 65 bushels ; rye, 20 to 30 bushels; Irish potatoes, 
100 bushels; sweet potatoes, lOO bushels; turnips, 200 bushels; 
sorghum, 100 gallons; field' peas, 40 bushels. 

The cultivated grasses that do well here are the following 
with their average production : Timothy, 3000 pounds ; red 
top, 2000 pounds; clover, 4000 pounds; Hungarian, 4000 
pounds. The varieties of fruits that succeed the best here are : 
Apples, peaches, pears, cherries, plums, grapes, and most all the 
different berries. 

Our only immediate means of transportation is by river, 
our nearest railroad being fifty mi'es distant. White river runs 
through the county and is navigable most all the year. W'e 
have no manufactures in this county more than steam grist and 
saw-mills, and great inducements are here for factories. 

We have about forty pwblic schools organized, kept open 
on an average of about four to eight months. We have one 
high school, the Mountain Home Male and Female Academy. 

There are in the county about thirty churches, composed 
of the Methodist (North and South), the Christian, Baptist and 
Presbyterian. 

We have Mountain Home, the county seat, truly the /wvze 
of a most happy and contented people, with a population of 
600, noted for its good churches, fine schools, and the moral 
character of its inhabitants. The remaining towns are Gass- 
ville. Big Flat, Big Pond, Lone Rock, Suka and Colfax, all 
small, though thriving towns. 

The price of unimproved lands is ;$i.25 to $5 per acre ; 
improved lands, $2.50 to ^2000 per acre. There remains an 
abundance of land subject to homestead or cash entry. 

The way to get here is to come on your most direct route 



(51) 

by rail to West Plains (Mo.), thence a daily stage runs to 
Mountain Home. 

BENTON COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY J' 'HN RLACK, ESQ.) 

Benton, the extreme northwestern county of Arkansas, 
adjoining the State of Missouri on the north and the Indian 
Territory on the west, is one of the most populous, as it is one 
of the most prosperous counties of the State. Its area is about 
8/9 square miles. Its population numbers 24,000, of whom 
only about 200 are colored. 

Its surface presents the remarkable contrast occurring, 
perhaps only in this regicfn of the continent, of wooded moun- 
tain (15 per cent.), open prairie (35 per cent.), and rolling coun- 
try (50 per cent.), interspersed with creek bottoms. Its climate 
is that of the northern temperate zone, and the grains and 
fruits of the north thrive well. Twenty-five per cent, of the 
land is under cultivation. The United States has 50,000 acres 
open to homestead entry, and the State 19,200 subject to dona- 
tion. It is singularly well watered by numerous plentiful and 
unfailing streams of limpid water, but has no navigable rivers. 
The St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad, with the Bentonville 
Branch, affords easy access to the markets of the North and 
South. The air is clear and salubrious, and the height of the 
country above the sea level adds to its hygienic advantages. 

Corn, wheat, oats, rye, millet, and grasses, fruits and 
tobacco are the principal products, both of which latter are of 
very superior quality. 

Apples are a staple, the fruit coming into bearing very 
early, and attaining a very high degree of perfection. In fact, 
the production of apples may be said to constitute one of the 
leadmg industries of the county. The Ives Seedling, Drake, 
Amber, Hartford Prolific, Martha, Concord, and other varieties 
of grapes are grown. The best yield is from the Ives Seedling 
and Concord. 

Little cotton is raised. The average yield of corn to the 
acre is 25 bushels on the uplands, 35 in the bottoms ; wheat, 
12 and 20 bushels, respectively; tobacco, 1000 pounds ; oats, 50 
bushels; rye, 25 bushels; Irish and sweet potatoes, 200 
bushels ; turnips, 300 bushels ; sorghum, lOO gallons syrup. 

Cultivatecl varieties of the grasses succeed well ; red clover, 
millet and Hungarian grass yielding 3 tons to the acre ; timothy, 
2 tons, and red top, i ton; blue grass succeeds admirably. 

There are some 30 square miles in the county, which pro- 
duce superior pine and cedar timber. 

Lead is found, and it is believed that deposits of coal exist. 
Neither of these resources, however, have been developed. 

There is little or no imported stock. The country is well 
adapted for the raising of horses, mules and hogs. 



(52) 

The White Sulphur Spring, on Butler's Creek, and others 
of a similar character, are esteemed for their curative proper- 
ties in cases of dropsy, rheumatism, sore eyes, etc. The waters 
of the Crystal Spring, at Bentonville, are supposed to be iden- 
tical in character with that of the famed Eureka. At the Siloam 
and other places of local resort, are still other medicinal 
fountains. 

The price of improved lands is from $^ to $30 per acre ; 
of unimproved, from 50 cents to $10. 

Benton is well supplied with educational facilities, having 
130 public schools, which are open from three to nine months 
in the year. The Bentonville College, academies at Bloom- 
field, Pea Ridge and Rogers, and the High School at Siloam, 
supply more advanced instruction. 

The leading cities and towns are, the county seat, Benton- 
ville, with a population of 1200 ; Siloam Springs, looo; Rogers, 
800; Bloomfield, 200; Springdale, 200, and Maysville, 200. 
BOONE COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY R. S. ARMITAGE, ESQ.) 

Boone is on the northern border of the State. Its only river 
of any magnitude is the White, which affords navigation, in 
this upper part of its course, at high water only, while Eureka 
Springs, in the adjoining county of Carroll, is the nearest rail- 
road point. Its soil is good even in the rolling portion, and 
rich and productive in the sandy loam of the extensive levels, 
which compose from a third to a quarter of its area ; and its 
future, when opened, as planned to railroads, is a most promis- 
ing one. It is generally reputed one of the most pleasant 
farming counties of the State. 

Its area is 648 square miles, of which about one-fourth is 
mountainous ; yet even this is in a large part adapted to the cul- 
tivation of fruit and for pasturing; 100,000 acres, or a quarter 
of the entire surface, is under cultivation. There are 125,000 

acres of land subject to homestead claim, and of State 

land'^ subject to donation. The population is 15,000, almost 
exclusively white. Improved land is held at from ^5 to ^25 
per acre, unimproved at from $1.2^ to ;^5. 

The products are largely those of a Northern climate, 
wheat, corn, potatoes, tobacco and hay, while apples, peaches, 
pears, plums, cherries, grapes of almost all kinds, and different 
varieties of berries are of superior quality and productiveness. 
Cotton does well, yielding half a bale to the acre on the up- 
land, and from three-fourths of a bale to a bale in the bottoms. 
The average yield of other crops is estimated as follows : Corn, 
25 bushels to the acre on uplands, and 25 to 50 bushels in the 
bottoms: wheat 10 and 15 bushels; oats 35 and 50; rye, 10 on 
the uplands and 20 in the bottom ; potatoes — the sweet and the 
Irish — 130 to 200 bushels ; turnips, 200 bushels. 



( 53 ) 

Timothy, clover, orchard grass, blue grass, red-top and 
millet do well ; the average product of red-top being 2,000 
pounds; timothy, 4,000; clover, 4,000; millet and Hungarian 
4,000 pounds per acre. 

Much pride is taken in the introduction and breeding of 
improved stock, which does well here. Of improved breeds of 
cattle the short-horn Durham predominates. 

In the northern and northeastern portions of the county 
are extensive pineries. Oak and cedar are found, and of white 
oak, especially, there is a large growth. Several saw-mills 
are employed in the county. 

Silver, zinc, copper and lead occur, the zinc and lead de- 
posits having been developed to a considerable extent, but still 
awaiting the extension confidently looked for — of the railroad 
system — before they can become immediately profitable. 

The county is intersected by many streams, and water of 
excellent quality is abundant, including the Elixir and other 
medicinal springs. 

Seventy-two public schools, open from three to nine months 
in the year, are established ; and there are high schools at 
Harrison, Rally Hill and Valley Springs. In every township 
there are church buildings, in some townships several. The 
denominations represented are, the Methodist, Christian, Presby- 
terian and Baptist. 

The towns are: Harrison, numbering 1200 inhabitants; 
Lead Hill, with about 500 ; Bellefonte, 350, and Valley Springs 
and Elixir, with from 200 to 300 each. 

BRADLEY COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY H. B. VAN VALKENBURG, ESQ ) 

Bradley county is situated in the southern portion of the 
State, and upon the southern, eastern and western sides of the 
county, respectively, is bounded by the Ouachita, the Saline 
and the Bayou Moro, the first two of which, at this portion of 
their -course, afford good navigation. Area, 645 square miles. 
Population, 7000, of whom two-thirds are whites. 

Ninety per cent, of the area of the county is level, the re- 
mainder hilly, but without any mountainous surface ; but a 
small portion of alluvial land. The uplands are gravelly, sandy 
or clay, in different localities. About one-sixteenth of the land 
is improved. Open to homestead entry, 18,280 acres; 53,039 
acres are subject to donation. The Little Rock, Mississippi 
River & Texas Railway, which intersects the northern part of 
the county, owns 45,588 acres. 

Corn, cotton, oats, sorghum, sweet and Irish potatoes, tur- 
nips and peas are the chief staples. Cotton yields 700 pounds 
to the acre on the uplands, and on bottom lands 900 pounds of 
seed cotton; corn, 12 bushels on the uplands and 20 bushels in 
the bottom lands. In good years this yield is increased one- 



(54) 

third. Upland oats produce 20 bushels to the acre ; sweet 
potatoes, 150 bushels; field peas, 15 bushels; sorghum, 80 gal- 
lons syrup. Cultivated grasses have not been introduced. All 
varieties of fruits are grown, and, with proper care, produce 
well. This county lies in what may be called the grape lati- 
tude of Arkansas, the Scuppernong, the Ives seedling, Cynthiana 
and other varieties thrive excellently. The Ives is said to fur- 
nish the best wine, though nearly all do well. 

The county is adapted to the raising of stock; but little 
attention has as yet been paid to the intnjduction of improved 
breeds. 

The timber, which is abundant, consists chiefly of pine, 
white oak, walnut, hickory and ash ; in the bottoms on the large 
streams, cypress is found. An almost inexhaustible growth of 
pine crosses a large proportion of the area of the county; and 
the streams and the railroad furnish every facility for conveying 
it cheaply and quickly to market. Much white oak, chiefly in 
the bottoms. 

Fine beds of coal are believed to exist, but have not been 
developed. 

The country is well watered — the drinking water, chiefly 
derived from wells, is soft. 

The price of improved land is from $T) to ^10 per acre; 
that of unimproved, ^^i to $2,. 

There are 37 public schools, kept open from three to eight 
months in the year, with a high school at Warren, the county 
seat. The Methodists have 9 churches. Baptists 7. and Presby- 
terians 2. 

The towns are ; Warren, Vv-ith a population of 500, Johns- 
ville, about 100, and Moro Bay, 150. 

CALHOUN COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY \V J BUNN, ESQ ) 

The county of Calhoun, lying in the second tier of south- 
ern ''ounties, and about midway of the State from east to west, 
is well situated with regard to communication ; the Ouachita 
river, which forms i^"S southern boundary, affording good navi- 
gation, while the Texas and St. Louis Railway passing through 
it in the north, conveniently connects it with all the principal 
points, in every direction. The area is 900 square miles. Its 
population numbers 6,800, with a decided preponderance of 
whites. 

The general face of the country is level, but one-fifth of 
the area being of a hilly character. There are neither moun- 
tains nor prairie. One-seventh of the land is improved, 17,220 
acres is open to homestead entry, while one-sixteenth, belong- 
ing to the State, is subject to donation to actual settlers. 

The soil is generally sandy. Cotton, corn tobacco, peas, 
potatoes, turnips, wheat, oats and rye form the staple crop. Of 



(55) 

these, the average crop of seed-cotton per acre is estimated at 
500 pounds ; corn, 15 bushels; tobacco, 700 pounds; oats, 20 
bushels; rye, 15 bushels; Irish potatoes, 300 bushels; sweet 
potatoes, 200 bushels; turnips, 100 bushels; field peas, 25 
bushels; sorghum, 150 gallons of syrup. 

Apples, peaches, plums, and other fruits, are very success- 
fully cultivated. Grapes thrive ; the leading varieties are the 
scuppernong, Ives seedling and Concord. 

Pine, oak, gum, cypress, beech and hickory timber grows 
here ; and the Ouachita river and the Texas & St. Louis Rail- 
road offer first-class facilities for marketing the -lumber. 
Several lumber mills are in operation. 

The country is well supplied with soft water, from springs 
and wells. 

The price of improved land is from $2.50 to $5 per acre ; 
that of unimproved from $1 to $2. 

There are 50 public schools, which are kept open for three 
months in the year. The Missionrry Baptists, Primitive Bap- 
tists, Methodists and Cumberland Presbyterians, support 35 
churches. 

The principal towns are Hampton, Summerville, Chamber- 
ville and Thornton. 

CHICOT COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY JOHN G. SIMMS, KSQ ) 

This county, bordering the Mississippi River, and forming 
the extreme southeastern corner of the State, is one of great 
fertility. It is stated that before the civil war, the records of 
the census showed this to be the richest county, in proportion 
to the number of white inhabitants, within the entire area of 
the United States, averaging something like ;^ 10,000 per capita 
of taxable property, for men, women and children Be this as 
it may, the richness of the fathomless alluvial of the Mississippi 
bottom, still secures for Chicot, crops of cotton unsurpassed, for 
quality or quantity, in any region of the world. Five hundred 
square miles of the surface is of this description of land, the 
remaining one hundred square miles being "second bottom," 
and above overflow. The bottom proper is protected by levees. 

The Mississippi River borders the entire eastern front, 
while in the winter season the Bayou Bartholemew affords navi- 
gation on the western border. The Little Rock, Mississippi 
River and Texas Railway skirts the northern boundary of the 
county. 

Wells are usually hard, cisterns are much used for pur- 
poses of supply of drinking water. 

The population is estimated at 12,000; the great majority, 
as is natural in a cotton country of such exceptional richness, 
belonging to the colored race 

Only about one-tenth of this matchless soil is as yet under 



(56) 

cultivation. Little, if any, is subject to homestead entry ; nor 
is any the property of railroads ; but the State owns some 
50,000 acres, open for purchase, or for donation to actual j 
settlers. I 

On hill lands, 500 pounds of seed cotton are raised to the 
acre; in the bottom, 1,200 to 1,800 pounds. Corn averages 
20 bushels on the upland ; 45 in the bottom. These, with field j 
peas, of which the yield is immense, and grown with corn, 
constitute the staple crops, though Irish potatoes, at 150 bushels 
to the acre, sweet potatoes and turnips at 200, and sorghum at 
50 gallqns of syrup to the acre, are raised, and oats do well, as 
do also, clover, millet and Hungarian grass, the clover pro- 
ducing 6,000 pounds, and the latter two varieties 4,000 pounds 
per acre. 

Apples, peaches, pears, nectarines, figs, pomegranates, 
strawberries and raspberries, do well, when receiving fair atten- 
tion. The Concord and scuppernong grapes are grown with 
success. 

The county is unexcelled in its facilities for stock-raising, 
having an immense and inexhaustible range of cane and grass. 
The few improved breeds that have been introduced, do well. 
Cattle can be raised at a cost of ;$2.50 each; mules and horses 
at from $15 to ^25 each. 

There is no pine timber; cypress is frequent in brakes; 
white oak grows on about one hundred square miles of the 
area of the county; red gum and ash are inexhaustible in quan- 
tity; and various species of oak and other valuable kinds of 
wood are found in abundance, while the facilities for transpor- 
tation to market, as above appears, are great. 

Improved land is held at from ;$ 10 to $20; unimproved, 
from 25 cents to ^^5. 

There are over twenty-five public schools open during three 
months of the year. The Baptist, Methodist, Protestant Epis- 
copal and Roman Catholic denominations have churches, six or 
eight in all. 

Lake Village, the county seat, with a population of onl}' 
100, is still a place of social importance. Grand Lake has a 
population of about 50. 

CLARK COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY .\. M. CROW, KSQ., OF ARKADELPHIA.) 

Clark county, one of the leading counties of the south- 
western portion of the State, is in the valley of the Ouachita, 
and on the line of the St. Louis, Iron-Mountain & Southern 
Railway. Its area is 900 square miles. The population is 
18,000, of whom one-third are colored. 

There are no mountains. Three-fourths of the surface is 
hilly, the remaining one-fourth level. The alluvial land com- 
prises about one-tenth of the entire area. 



(57) 

*The United States has 31,560 acres of land, subject to 
homestead entry ; the State, about 6,000, subject to donation, 
and 68,900 acres are owned by the St. Louis, Iron-Mountain & 
Southern Raihvay Company. 

The crops generally grown are corn, cotton, oats, wheat, 
rye, peas, potatoes, (Irish and sweet), millet, sorghum and 
clover. 

The average yield are as follows ; seed cotton, on hill 
lands 800 pounds to the acre, on bottom lands, 1300 pounds; 
corn, on upland and bottom, respectively, 20 and 35 bushels; 
wheat, 10 and 16 bushels; oats, 25 and 45 ; rye, 10 and 15 ; H 
Irish potatoes, lOO bushels to the acre; sweet potatoes, 125 
bushels ; turnips, 200 bushels ; field peas, 30 bushels ; sorghum, 
50 to 75 gallons syrup to the acre. Tobacco, grows well, but 
is not raised as a field crop. 

Timothy, red top, clover, millet, Hungarian grass, Milo 
maize, and alfalfa, all succeed well ; timothy, clover, and millet, 
producing to the acre, 3000 pounds, and red top 2000 pounds. 

All varieties of peaches, wild goose-plums and Le Compte 
pears succeed, and of apples, the Shannon, red June, harvest and 
some others, do well. The varieties of grapes cultivated include 
the Champion, Ives seedling, Elvira, Concord, Perkins, Brighton, 
Salem, Delaware and Norton's Virginia. The Champion, Ives 
seedling, Elvira, Perkins and Brighton succeed best. Four- 
year-old vines will yield 4,000 to 5,000 pounds of grapes per 
acre. 

Some attention is given to live stock. ' The county is 
well adapted to its growth. Some hogs, cattle, sheep and 
fine jacks have been imported. The Jersey and Durham cattle 
both do well, as do Berkshire hogs, and sheep and young 
mules do finely, 

The valuable timber growing in this county consists of 
pine, oak, ash, hickory, red and sweet gum and holly. Two- 
thirds of the area of the county produces fine timber. The 
white oak grows i«i nearly all parts of the county. There is 
very little cypress. Ash, hickory, red gum and holly grow on 
all the bottom lands. 

The facilities for marketing the lumber are good. The St. 
Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad runs through the 
county from northeast to southwest, and at Gurdon a branch 
leads to Camden, in the adjoining county of Ouachita. The 
Ouachita, Caddo, Terrenoir and Little Missouri rivers traverse 
the county; the Ouachita is navigable. 

Coal, gypsum and kaolin occur, but have not been devel- 
oped. There are some indications also of iron and lead. The 
facilities furnished by the railroads and the rivers, for transport- 
ing mineral to market, are good. 

Five large lumber mills are in operation. 



(58) 

Forty-eight public schools have been established, and are 
kept open from three to eight months in each year. 

Improved lands rate at $S to $i^ per acre ; unimproved 
from ;^3 to ;^8. The general character of the soil in the bottoms 
is a black, sandy alluvial ; in the uplands, sandy, some black 
and some gray, with some gravelly hills. 

The county is generally well watered. In many places 
there is a constant supply of running water. The water 
employed for domestic purposes is generally soft. Some good 
springs are found, but wells are generally used. There are 
several Chalybeate springs, valuable in cases of dyspepsia and 
constipation. No analysis of the water has been made. 

Prof. B. J. Dun conducts a high school at Arkadelphia, the 
county seat. There are about forty church houses. The 
denominations represented are the Methodist, Baptists, Presby- 
terians and Christians, with colored Methodists and Baptists. 

The cities and towns are : Arkadelphia, population 2,000; 
Okalona, 200; and Hollywood, Amity and Beirne, with a popu- 
lation of 100 each. 

CLEBURNE COUNTY. 

Cleburne, a county of recent creation, occupies a central 
position in the northern half of the State, lying between Stone 
and Independence counties on the north, Independence and 
White on the east. White and Faulkner on the South, and Van 
Buren on the west. It contains 604 square miles ; its popula- 
tion, as nearly as can be estimated, is 5,500. There are but 
very few colored people. 

The country is broken ; nearly one-half of the area being 
mountainous, one-fourth hilly ; the remainder level ; about one- 
eighth of the whole is of alluvial formation. No prairie. One- 
tenth of the land is improved ; 125,560 acres are open for entry 
as homesteads. The State has some 50,000 acres, subject to 
donation. The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway 
Company owns 1,400 acres. 

Corn, cotton, oats, wheat and grasses of different varieties. 
form the different staples. The hilly lands yield an average of 
650 pounds of seed-cotton to the acre, the bottoms 1,250 
pounds; corn produces 20 bushels on the uplands and 40 to 45 
bushels in the bottoms ; wheat, 7 bushels on uplands and 12 to 
15 bushels in the bottoms; tobacco, 1,100 pounds to the acre; 
oats, 35 to 40 bushels in the hills, and 75 bushels in the bottom 
lands; rye, 7 and 10 bushels; Irish potatoes, 150 bushels; 
sweet potatoes , 200 bushels; turnips, 200 bushels; field peas, 
15 bushels; sorghum, 100 gallons syrup to the acre. 

The cultivated grasses succeed well. Millet, herds grass, 
timothy, clover and blue grass, are grown. Timothy yields 
2,000 pounds per acre; red-top, 1,200; Hungarian, 3,000: 
clover and millet, 4,000 pounds. 



(59) 

The products of the orchard consist of apples, peaches, 
pears, quinces and plums ; and the small fruits are profitably 
grown. Peaches, plums, grapes, quinces, pears and apples, 
succeed in the order given. 

Of grapes, the Concord, catawba, scuppernong and 
Martha, are grown with entire success ; the Concord being the 
favorite. 

Little attention is paid to stock, further than to see to their 
marking and branding, the woods affording good range. 
Indeed the country is by nature admirably adapted to the rais- 
ing of stock. Improved breeds of hogs and cattle have been 
introduced to some extent, and thrive. 

About one-eighth of the county is in pine timber. White 
oak abounds throughout, and in the bottoms is ver}' fine. 
There are, beside several other species of oak, with walnut, ash, 
cherry, hickory, gum, elm, box-elder, beech, sycamore, etc. The 
marketing is effected by rafting down the Little Red river. 

The Little Red is by law declared a navigable river, and 
needs only some improvement at the hands of the national gov- 
ernment to become navigable during a considerable portion of 
the year. Steamboats now ascend it in high water. 

Lead, coal, silver and iron are found, but there has been 
no development of the deposits. For easy, future transporta- 
tion, dependence must be had upon improvements in the chan- 
nel of the Little Red. 

Forty-eight public schools are kept open from three to ten 
months in each year. 

Improved lands are held at from $3 to $20 per acre ; un- 
improved at from 50 cents to $10. 

The soil in the bottoms is of an alluvial character, black 
and sandy, and impregnated with lime ; in the uplands and on 
the mountains, mulatto, underlaid with red or yellowish clay. . 

The county is well watered by springs and numerous 
streams, some of the latter running about all the year. Wells 
are easily procured, and the drinking water is about equally 
divided between the hard and soft, according to locality. 

The Sugar Loaf Springs have a great reputation for the 
healing quality of its water. Some nine springs rise within a 
small compass, each of different qualities, including black and 
white sulphur chalybeate and free stone. These springs were 
visited by the early pioneers, who had implicit confidence 
in them for all chronic malarial diseases. In addition to these, 
there are the Quitman Chalybeate and Black Sulphur Springs, 
each possessed of peculiar medicinal qualities. 

The Quitman College furnishes the facilities of higher edu- 
cation. Of church-houses, there are 18 Methodist (southern), 
10 Missionary Baptist, 4 Cumberland Presbyterian, i Christian, 
and possibly others. 



(6o) 

Sugar Loaf, the county seat, has a population of 300 ; 
Quitman, 400 ; Shiloh, 200. 

COLUMBIA COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY R. L. EMERSON, ESQ.) 

Columbia belongs to the extreme southern tier of coun- 
ties. The Texas & St. Louis Railway affords access to the 
north, east, south and west. It contains an area of 900 square 
miles, and supports a population of about 16,000, the whites 
being in proportion to the colored race as four to three. 

Its surface is almost uniformly level, seldom rising into 
hills; but where the surface is thus broken, the rolling slopes 
and rich timber render it a peculiarly beautiful country. Two- 
thirds or more of the soil is alluvial. About one-seventh of the 
land is improved; 5,240 acres of Government land are open to 
homestead entry, and perhaps 30,000 acres belong to the State 
and are subject to donation. 

Corn, cotton and oats, peas and potatoes are generally 
grown. The average yield of seed cotton to the acre is from 
500 to 800 pounds, according to the character of the land ; of 
corn, 10 to 18 bushels; oats, 12 to 15 bushels; sorghum pro- 
duces, on the same area, an average yield of 75 gallons. 
Peaches, apples and plums are successfully cultivated. Few 
grapes are raised, though the Concord and scuppernong do 
well. 

The county is well adapted for stockraising, but it cannot 
be said to have become an industry. 

Nearly all the uncleared portion of the country abounds in 
pine and white oak ; and it contains several thousand acres of 
creek bottom lands rich in cypress. The Texas & St. Louis 
Railway furnishes ready facilities for the marketing of these 
valuable woods. 

Streams and bayous intersect the county in every direc- 
tion. None of these, however, are navigable. 

One hundred or more public schools afford, during three 
months in each year, instruction in primary studies. 

The price of improved lands is from $2 to ^10 per acre ; 
that of lands unimproved, ^i to $$. The soil of the bottoms is 
dark and mucky, intermingled with white clay. It is dry and 
good. In the hill country the soil is generally, but not in all 
cases, sandy. 

Wells, creeks and springs afford water, which, however, has 
a constant flow only from the latter named source. The drink- 
ing water is harjd or soft, according to location. 

A high school is established at Magnolia ; and church- 
houses afford ample accommodations for the entire population. 
The Missionary Baptists and Christian denominations are most 
numerous. 

Magnolia, the county seat, contains 1,800 people. Buck- 



(6i ) 

iicr, Atlanta, McNeill and Waldo, are the other towns of the 
county. 

CLEVELAND COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY N. D. HOLMES.) 

Cleveland County, near the center of that portion of the 
State lying south of the Arkansas river, is upon the line of the 
Texas & St. Louis Railway, which intersects and pretty nearly 
divides it. The Saline River, navigable in the winter season for 
small steamboats, flows through the county from northwest to 
southeast. Its area is about 550 square miles. The population 
is about 10,000, the proportion of whites to colored people 
being two to one. The surface is in general hilly, perhaps one- 
third being made up of level flats and overflowed river land. 
It contains neither mountains or prairies. About one-seventh of 
the land is under cultivation. The United States has 12,876 
acres subject to homestead entry, the State 20,800 in all, of 
which 5,380 are reserved as school lands, while the remainder 
is subject to donation. 

Cotton and corn ' are the staple crops. Some tobacco, 
sorghum, peas, potatoes, etc., are raised. Eight hundred pounds 
seed cotton per acre is considered an average crop for the hill 
lands, 1200 for the bottoms; corn yields 20 bushels to the acre 
upon the uplands, 35 in the bottoms; wheat, 10 to 20 bushels: 
oats, 15 to 40; rye, 8 to 15 ; Irish potatoes, 100 bushels; sweet 
potatoes, 200 bushels; turnips, 200; field peas, 25 ; sorghum, 60 
to 100 gallons syrup. No attention has been paid to the culti- 
vation of grasses. Apples, peaches, plums, and various berries 
grow abundantly, peaches and plums succeed best. The soil 
and climate of this county, in common with those of this entire 
region of the State, are peculiarly adapted to the growth of the 
grape, which grows wild, in luxuriance and variety, while the 
scuppernong, <^oncord, Ives, seedling and other species are cul- 
tivated with entire success. Little attention has as yet been 
paid to stock raising. Some improved varieties, however, have 
of late been introduced. 

Three-fourths of the forest land produces pine and oak 
timber. Hickory, walnut and gum, also are found. In the 
bottoms, white oak and cypress abound. The Texas & St. 
Louis Railway, and the Saline river, afford easy access to the 
markets. 

About fifty public schools have been established, and are 
open for three months in each year. 

Improved lands are worth from ^^1.50 to ;$ 10.00 per acre ; 
those unimproved can be had at from 50 cents to ^2.00. The 
soil of the bottoms is of a dark loam ; that of the uplands 
either dark or red, and sandy. 

The county is well watered. Springs are numerous, and 
running water abundant. The water used for domestic pur- 



(62) 

poses, which is soft, is derived chiefly from wells. Several min- 
eral springs exist, but their qualities have not been adequately 
tested. 

The Methodist, Primitive and Missionary Baptists, and 
Presbyterian denominations, aggregate about thirty church 
buildings. 

The towns are, Toledo, the county seat, with a population 
of 400 ; Rison and Kingsland, railroad towns, and New Edin- 
burgh, in the interior, with a population of 200 each. 

CONWAY COUNTY. 

Is centrally located within the Arkansas River Valley. Its 
boundaries are : On the north, Van Buren county; on the east, 
portions of Van Buren and Faulkner counties and the north 
fork of Cadron creek to its junction with the Arkansas river ; 
on the south, the Arkansas river and the northern line of Perry 
county ; on the west, portions of Yell and Pope counties. 

rhe area of Conway county is about 384,000 acres of 
broken land, with a few mountain ridges and a little bottom 
near the Arkansas river and its tributaries. About 50,000 acres 
of land are improved, 2620 acres are United States lands, and 
some 70,000 are owned by the L. R. & F. S. R. The general 
character of the soil is, in the bottoms, sandy loam and black 
waxey, in the uplands sandy and gravelly, and in the moun- 
tains rocky. The prices of lands vary for improved lands from 
;^2.50 tQ ;^50, for unimproved from 50c. to ;^2.oo. 

Cotton, wheat, corn and small grain and a few of the cul- 
tivated varieties of grass are grown and give a good average 
yield. Cotton, which is a principal crop, yields on the hill 
lands 600 pounds, and the bottoms 1 500 pounds of seed cotton ; 
corn, from 20 to 40 bushels ; wheat, from 8 to 20 bushels; oats, 
from 25 to 40 bushels ; Irish and sweet potatoes, about 100 
bushels ; and field peas about 30 bushels to the acre; sorghum, 
produces lOO gallons per acre; of grasses, timothy and redtop 
yield about a ton ; millet, a ton and a half; and Hungarian 
grass aLout 2500 pounds to the acre. 

Large and small fruits are everywhere here successfully 
grown. 

No attention has been paid to the raising of stock, though 
the county seems to be well adapted to its growth. 

We have many varieties of valuable timber, such as oak, 
walnut, pine and cypress, with good and practicable facilities 
for marketing the same. 

The Little Rock & Ft. Smith Railway and the Arkansas 
river traverse the southern part of the county from west to east 
within a mean distance of fifty miles from Little Rock, and of 
smaller streams, which might be used at some seasons for float 
roads, are the Point Remove, the Cypress and Cadron creek 



(63) 

north of the Arkansas river, and the Petit Jane creek and some 
small branches on the southern side. 

Coal and iron have both been found, but as yet are unde- 
veloped resources. 

The population of Conway county is nearly 15,000, one- 
third of which is of the colored race. 

We have some sixty free common schools open-^ principally 
three months in the year, and at Morrilton and Springfield ex- 
cellent high schools, as also a Catholic convent school at 
Marienthal, a Roman Catholic settlement. 

There are churches in every neighborhood, and nearly all 
denominations are represented in them. 

In some localities much attention has been paid to the cul- 
tivating of grapes for the manufacture of wine, and along with 
the Ives Seedling, which seems to succeed best, the Delaware, 
Concord, Catavrba, Missouri Reesling, Norton and Virginia have 
shown good results. The average yield per acre of wine is 
about from 400 to 500 gallons. 

The watering facilities of the county for stock and domestic 
purposes are good. Springs and running streams and good 
wholesome wells of both hard and soft waters are used. 

Of principal towns we have Morrilton, with a population of 
1,500; Plummersville, 200; Germantown, 25 ; Blackville, 50, on 
the Fort Smith Railway ; Lewisburg, on the Arkansas river ; 
Springfield, 300; Solgohachia, lOO; Center Ridge, 100 ; Opolo, 
50; St. Vincent, 50; Cleveland, 200, and Marienthal 50. Of 
factories we have many steam sawmills and one glass factory in 
Morrilton. 

CRAIGHEAD COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY JACOB SHARP, ESQ.) 

The county of Craighead is situate in the northeastern 
portion of the State, and is peculiarly favored in respect of 
communication and access to markets, the Kansas City, Spring- 
field & Memphis, the Texas & St. Louis, and the Knobel 
Branch of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railways 
converging within its limits, while the navigable waters of the 
St. Francis river flow across it from north to south. 

The area of the county is 720 square miles ; its population, 
10,000, including only 200 or 300 colored. Nine-tenths of its 
face is level. About one-eighth of this level area is of alluvial 
character, while another eighth is composed of prairie ; 480 
acres are open to homestead entry under the laws of the United 
States ; the State lands, subject to donation, are limited to 
1,000 acres; the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway 
has 9,000 acres for sale on easy terms. 

The staple crops are those of corn, cotton, sorghum, oats, 
rye, wheat, tobacco, potatoes and the grasses. Cotton yields 
from 800 to 1,400 pounds seed-cotton per acre; corn, 30 to 40 



(64) 

bushels, wheat, lO bushels; tobacco, i,ooo pounds; oats, 30 to 
40 bushels ; rye, 1 5 to 20 ; Irish potatoes, 200 ; sweet potatoes, 
150; field peas, 50; sorghum, 150 gallons of syrup. Cultivated 
grasses succeed well. Those grown are timothy, red top and 
Hungarian, German millet, with an average yield of 2,000 pounds 
to the acre ; clover, 2,500 pounds ; millet, 3,000 pounds. Peaches, 
apples and pears are grown — the former succeed best ; apples 
and pears do well. 

Though little attention has been paid to stock, the country 
is adapted to the raising of cattle and hogs. There are fine 
ranges in the forest of grass and acorns, and stock will live 
throughout the year without feed. 

More than 40 varieties of timber grow in the county. 
There is some pine. Much cypress is found, and abundance of 
fine white oak and poplar. The three railroads traversing the 
full extent of the county give ample access to every market. 

There are 5 1 public schools, open for instruction during 
five months of the year. 

Improved land is held at from $6 to $30; unimproved at ;^i 
to ;^5. The soil in the bottoms is dark sandy loam; that of the 
uplands is yellowish colored clay. 

A number of large creeks with never-failing water run 
through the county. There are some springs; but the water 
used for domestic purposes is chiefly drawn from wells, and is 
pure and fine. 

Church-buildings are numerous — principally erected by the 
Methodist and Baptist persuasions. There are some Presby- 
terians, and the Roman Catholics have a church at Jonesboro, 
the county seat. 

Jonesboro has about 1,500 people; Brookland, 300 ; Obear, 
100; and Bannerville, Nettleton and Herndon, 50 each. 
CRAWFORD COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY HENRY SHIBLEY AND HON. HUGH F. THOMASSON.) 

The county of Crawford, one of the earliest and best settled 
of the State, lies upon the Western border, and nearly at the 
head waters of summer navigation on the Arkansas river. The 
St, Louis & San Francisco Railway traverses it from north to 
south, dividing its territory almost equally, while on the south- 
ern border runs the Little Rock & Fort Smith Roa\l, now a part 
of the Arkansas Valley Route. 

Its area is about 600 square miles. Its population numbers 
about 17,600, of which 1,200 are colored. 

About one-half of the face of the county is mountain- 
ous, about one-fourth hilly, about one-fourth alluvial, or rich 
bottom lands, the latter Arkansas river and creek bottoms. 
There is no prairie, worth noting; 175,000 acres are improved 
— more than one-third ; there are 6,000 acres still open to home- 
stead entry, under the laws of the United States ; the State has 



(65) 

i.ooo acres still subject to donation, and the Little Rock & 
Fort Smith Railway Company has 60,000 acres for sale. 

Here are grown cotton, corn, wheat, oats, rye, millet, Irish 
and sweet potatoes, together with fruits and 'grasses. The 
average yield, computed with more than ordinary care, is as 
follows : Cotton, on hill lands, 800 pounds seed cotton to the 
acre; on bottom lands 1,600, and with judicious cultivation, 
more; corn, 25 to 35 bushels per acre on upland, and on botom 
land 50; wheat, 8 to 20 bushels ; tobacco, 800 to 1,000 pounds. 
Tobacco is not raised as a crop. Oats produce from 30 to 40 
bushels on upland, and on bottom lands from 40 to 60. Rye 
runs from 8 to 14 bushels. Irish potatoes yield 150 to 250 
bushels per acre, sweet potatoes sometimes giving 300 bushels. 
The yield of turnips is from 300 to 500 bushels. Cultivated 
grasses succeed very well, clover and red top principally grown. 
Timothy, blue grass, millet, etc., are also under cultivation. 
Apples, peaches, pears, plums, and nearly all the small fruits — 
strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, etc. — do well. Peaches 
and plums are particularly successful. For grapes, in the words 
of one correspondent, this is "a veritable paradise." The late 
Dr. Thruston here produced wines which might stand in rivalry 
with almost the best of Europe. The varieties most cultivated 
are the Norton's Virginia, Ives seedling, Perkins and Concord. 
Norton's Virginia is accounted the standard for wine, and is of 
good body and quality, though still finer wines are produced 
here from other varieties. The Norton is thought to be the 
hardiest in this climate, and is now yielding from 300 to 400 
gallons of wine per acre. 

Live stock has not received the attention its importance 
demands. The county is undoubtedly well adapted to its 
growth. All the improved breeds brought here while the ani- 
• mals were young have given ample satisfaction. Berkshire 
hogs have been thoroughly tried, and their importation has 
proved a success. 

All varieties of oak, white oak included, walnut, pecan and 
gum are found ; little pine and no. cypress; ash is quite abun- 
dant in the bottoms. There are, beside cherry, black locust, 
mulberry, box elder, hackberry, sycamore, birch, etc. The 
facilities for marketing are good — two railroads, and the Ar- 
kansas river. 

Several bold, never-failing streams pour down from the 
mountains on the north, to feed the Arkansas, which flows at 
the southern boundary of the county. 

There is good reason to believe that valuable coal deposits 
exist in the county, but its mineral resources have not as yet 
been at all developed. Iron, lead, zinc of fine quality, and 
potters' clay, with traces of silver, are to be found. 

The manufactures established consist only of flouring 



(66) 

9 

mills, planing and wood-working machines, wool-carding, etc., 
adapted to domestic industries. 

There are eighty organized school districts in the county, 
which are kept open from three to seven months in each year. 
Van Buren has a ^iO,ooo school-house. There are perhaps lOO 
schools in the county, open for mstruction from three to ten 
months in each year. 

Improved land rates at from ;$5 to $40 per acre; unim- 
proved, from $1.25 to ;^I0. In the bottoms the soil is alluvial 
and very fertile; upon the uplands a rich, reddish, sandy loam, 
with clay subsoil. To one who is not familiar with this section 
of country, it may appear strange that the soil on the "benches" 
of the mountains, of like character with that of the uplands, is 
of the richest possible description, but such is the case. 

It is well watered by streams that never run dry. For 
domestic purposes the chief reliance is on wells and cisterns, 
and for water for stock purposes in localities where access to the 
flowing streams is less easy, resort is had to artificial ponds. 
All the water is of the sweetest and best. Sulphur, white sul- 
phur, and chalybeate springs are resorted to by health. seekers, 
and with good results. No analysis is known to have been 
made. 

The public high school at Alma, and that at Van Buren, 
are graded schools, in which the higher branches are taught. 
In the country, school-houses, as a rule, are used for church 
purposes. In Van Buren there are six church houses. There 
are represented Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Episco- 
palians, Catholics, Christians, and several other sects. 

The cities and towns are as follows : Van Buren, popula- 
tion 2,500; Alma, 500; Cedarville, lOO; Porter, 75 or 1 00, with 
Mountainburg, Cove City, Uniontown, 'Frisco, Ready, Chester, 
and Lancaster containing fewer inhabitants. 

CARROLL COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY H. H. MOOSE.) 

« 

Is situated in the northwestern part of the State, and has 
for its northern limit the Missouri line. It is bounded in the 
west by Benton, in the south by Madison and Newton, and in 
the east by Boone counties. It embraces nearly 640 square 
miles and has a population of 18,000 inhabitants. 

The face of the county presents a varied landscape. 
Mountains, hills, plateaus, prairies, alluvial levels and bottoms 
change the features of the county in every part. About one- 
fortieth bottoms ; mountainous, four-tenths ; hilly, two-tenths ; 
level, one-tenth ; alluvial, two-tenths ; prairie, one-tenth. 

About 60,000 acres of the county constitute the area of 



(67) 

improved lands ; about one-third of the land belongs to the 
United States, and the State owns a few acres, sold for taxes. 

Corn, wheat, oats, potatoes, sorghum, are among the prin- 
cipal crops raised ; no cotton of any amount is grown. 

The average yield of corn on the uplands is 25 bushels, 
and from 50 to 60 bushels on bottom lands; the yield 'of 
wheat is from 18 to 25 bushels; tobacco, which, however, is 
not much grown, will yield i50o"pounds per acre; oats, from 30 
to 40 bushels; rye, from 15 to 25 bushels; Irish potatoes, 75 
bushels ; sweet potatoes, 75 bushels ; turnips, 50 bushels ; sor- 
ghum, frorn 50 to 75 gallons of syrup to the acre ; and field 
peas will produce 60 bushels ; cultivated grasses, such as clover, 
timothy and millet are grown, but not general. All succeeds 
well, and clover exceeds. Timothy will yield from loooto 1500 
pounds; clover, from 1200 to 2000 pounds ; millet, from 1500 
to 2000 pounds per acre. 

Apples, peaches, pears, cherries, plums, grapes, black- 
berries, raspberries, currants, strawberries, and all manner of 
fruits grow well and produce well, if adapted to the climate. 
Crops of all kinds seldom fail here. 

Not much attention is given to improved stock, though the 
county is well adapted to nearly all kinds, especially sheep, 
hogs, cattle and mules. 

About one-thirtieth of the area of the county is covered 
with yellow or hard pine. White oak timber is in abundance, 
and of good quality, and some black walnut, and chery timber 
is found. The timber resources need development and easier 
transportation. 

The Eureka Springs Railway runs 20 miles into the north- 
western part to Eureka Springs. Of streams we have : White 
river. Kings river and Osage river ; not navigable : Long creek, 
Dry creek, Yokum creek and Piney creek. 

Lead, and grey and red marble are found of very good 
quality but have not been developed. 

We have seventy-six free schools, one academy and one 
college, and the common schools are kept open from three to 
eight months. At Eureka we have a college and graded 
school, and at Berryville, the county seat, is Clark's Academy. 
Twenty Baptist, fifteen Methodist, three Christian, one Episco- 
pal, two Presbyterian and one Catholic churches are distributed 
over the county. The county is well watered by running 
streams, and the soil is generally good, being in the bottoms 
black alluvial, in the uplands clay foundation, and in the moun- 
tains limestone. Improved land is sold for from ^5 to ^15, 
unimproved for from ;^i.25 to ^5 per acre. 

The water for domestic purposes is obtained from springs, 
which is mostly soft, and wells generally hard. 

Eureka Springs, the celebrated mineral waters, are reputed 



(68) 

foi rheumatism affections, Bright's kidney disease, scrofula and 
all chronic and blood diseases, and many cases of cancer and 
dropsy have been cured by its use. 

Eureka Springs has a population of 7000, Berryville 600, 
Carrolton 300, Green Forest 250, Beaver 100. 

CLAY COUNTY, 

(CONTRIBUTED BY CHAS. C. NAUCK.) 

Is situated in the extreme northeast corner of the State 
and bounded on the north and east by the State of Missouri, 
on the south by Greene, and on the west by Randolph coun- 
ties. It has an area of about 350,000 acres and a population 
of about 8,000 inhabitants, 25 per cent, of them being colored. 
The face of the country is generally alluvial, intersected cen- 
trally, and divided by Crawley's Ridge, thus separating the 
waters of the Cache and St. Francis rivers. 

About 63,000 acres of the country are more or less im- 
proved; 9,160 acres only are Government land, and may be 
entered under the homestead act; about 10,000 acres belong to 
the State and 43,920 acres are owned by the St. Louis, Iron 
Mountain & Southern Railway Company. 

Cotton, corn, wheat, rye, oats, potatoes are the principal 
crops grown, and in accordance with the nature of the soil, pro- 
duce abundantly; cotton yielding from 600 to 1,600 pounds of 
seed cotton; corn, from 30 to 60 bushels; oats from 25 to 40 
bushels; wheat and rye, from 10 to 12 bushels ; potatoes (Irish 
and sweet), from 200 to 300 bushels to the acre. All of the 
cultivated grasses may be grown here successfully and yield a 
good harvest. 

Fruit culture is engaging considerable attention now, and 
all along Crawley's Ridge apples, pears, peaches, plums and all 
the varieties of small fruit are furnishing the market at St. Louis 
with delicious fruit, and from year to year horticulture is receiv- 
ing more interest. 

The bottoms and alluvial uplands of Clay are stocked with 
the best of timber. Black, red, white, burr, overcup oaks, 
hickory, ash, elm cover large tracts, the bottoms of the St. 
Francis and Cash rivers grow an abundance of cypress, and 
Crawley's Ridge has a luxuriant growth of yellow poplar. 

The shipping facilities have been much improved by the 
completion of the Helena Branch of the St. Louis, Iron Moun- 
tain & Southern Railway and the St. Francis river navigable in 
part; the Cache and Black rivers, with their branches, furnish 
good floating roads at some seasons in the year. 

The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern intersects the 
county on the west of Crawley's Ridge running north, and the 
Helena Branch forms a junction with the same at Knobel, in 
the northwestern quarter of the county. 



(69) 

Corning and Boydsville are county seats, and do a thriving 
business. There are about 50 common schools in the county 
and 40 church-houses distributed through the principal neigh- 
hoods. Baptist, Methodist, Cumberland and Old School Pres- 
byterian and other denominations are represented well. 

CROSS COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY JAMES LEVESQUE AND J. W. KELLOUGH, ESQRS.) 

Cross county lies in the second tier of counties from the 
Mississippi, in the northeastern portion of the State. The 
Texas & St. Louis Railway traverse it from north to south, on 
its western border, the Crawley Ridge branch of the St. Louis, 
Iron Mountain & Southern runs parallel through the center, 
and the navigable waters of the St. Francis supply the county 
with the most ample facilities of transportation. The area is 
600 square miles ; the population, 6,500, of whom two-thirds 
are whites. 

The surface is generally level, with about ten per cent, of 
hill country. One-third of the whole is of alluvial formation. 
One-fifth of the land is improved. The United States has 2,000 
acres subject to homestead entry; the State about 10,000, the 
subject of donation to actual settlers. The Memphis & Little 
Rock Railroad Co. has about 5000 acres for sale. 

The list of crops generally grown includes cotton, corn, 
wheat, oats, rye, barley, rice, Irish and sweet potatoes, peas, 
sorghum and tobacco, together with clover and other grasses. 
Cotton yields from 1,000 to 1,500 pounds seed cotton to the 
acre; corn, from 20 to 45 bushels; wheat, from '10 to 25 
bushels ; tobacco, a full crop on all lands, hilly or bottom ; oats, 
20 to 40 bushels; rye, 8 to 14 bushels; potatoes, of better 
varieties, 250 bushels; turnips, 300; field peas, 30; sorghum, 
lOO* gallons syrup. All grasses do exceedingly well, the 
varieties cultivated, viz : Timothy, red-top, clover, millet, pro- 
ducing an average yield of 2,500 pounds of timothy, 2,000 red- 
top, and 4,000 pounds of millet to the acre. Apples, peaches, 
pears, quinces, grapes, and all friiits, do well. Nearly all 
varieties of grapes are grown. 

Particular attention is paid, here, to the raising of live 
stock, all species of which thrive. Of cattle, the Durham and 
Jersey have been introduced ; the latter succeeding btrst. 

One-tenth of the timber growing in the county is cypress, 
one-twentieth pine, while the white oak is found everywhere in 
the county. Beside these there are poplar, various species of 
oak, hickory, gum, walnut, cottonwood, beech and cherry. It 
is needless to say that the facilities for marketing the lumber 
are unsurparsed. 

Fitty-five public schools, with an average annual session of 
four months, are established in the county. 



• (70) 

The price per acre of improved lands ib $^ to $15, that of 
lands unimproved, 50 cents to $2.50. The soil of the bottoms 
is a rich sandy loam ; that of the uplands a rich clay loam. 

Springs and large streams furnish abundant supply of con- 
stantly running water ; that used for domestic purposes and de- 
rived both from springs and wells, is hard or soft as localities 
vary. 

Thirty church houses, belonging to the Methodist, Baptist 
and Presbyterian denominations, supply the means of public 
worship. 

Vandale, with a population of 400, Wittsburg, Wynne 
and Cherry Valley, each with 150, and Nolton with 50, are the 
towns. 

DALLAS COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY CHAS. C. NAUCK.) 

One of the healthies and most temperate counties in the 
State, is situated in the Ouachita river valley, which stream 
forms its southeastern boundary, is further bounded on the 
west by Clark county, on the north by Hot Springs and Grant 
counties, on the east by Cleveland, and on the south by Cal- 
houn and Ouachita counties. 

Dallas county embraces about 650 square miles of land of 
a great variety of character. 

The face of the county presents a much broken appearance, 
a ridge of hills running diagonally through the county a little 
north of the center and in a southeasterly direction, dividing the 
waters of the Ouachita from those of the Sahne river. 

One-third of the entire area is hilly, one-third uplands, and 
along the water courses we find another third to consist of level 
alluvial bottoms. 

As the surface, so is the soil different in character. On 
the hills there is much sand and yellow clay ; the soil of the •up- 
lands is a sandy alluvial, a red sandy clay and sometimes a 
whitish clay, but the fertility of these lands is in the main good 
and the average yield is about 800 pounds of seed-sotton, 25 
bushels of corn and 10 bushels of wheat to the acre. Along 
the Ouachita and Saline rivers, and running parallel with the 
tributaries in the county, there is a belt of deep and rich allu- 
vial soil composed of a black sandy and sometimes a buckshot 
loam, the production and fertility of which is surprising and is 
evidenced by a rank and luxuriant vegetation, and a yield of 
from 1600 to 1800 pounds of seed cotton to the acre and as 
much as 80 bushels of corn. 

Cotton and corn are, of course, the principal crops grown, 
though the soil, climate and conditions have proven that all 
crops which may be grown between the tropics and the north- 
ern limits of the United States can be cultivated in this county 
successfully. Cotton, as stated, will yield from 600 to 1800 



(71) 

pounds of seed cotton ; corn, from 30 to 80 bushels ; wheat, 
from 10 to 15 bushels; oats, from 15 to 50 bushels; rye, from 
10 to 12 bushels; Irish and sweet potatoes and turnips, from 
200 to 300 bushels; sorghum, from 100 to 125 gallons of syrup ; 
peas, 40 bushels per acre. The sowing of crop grasses has not 
been engaged in to any extent, there being abundant pasture, 
and little stock-raising in the county, but timothy, redtop, 
clover, herd grasses, millet, Hungarian grasses, even milo maize 
and x-Vlfalfa can be grown here successfully, and will average 
from I to 2 tons per acre. 

This county in fact is pre-eminently fitted for a stock- 
raising country, and the vast number of fat bucks and game of 
all kinds that abound and draw visiting sportsmen from even 
the most remote States of this country, prove that rich and 
luxuriant pasture for all the graminiverous species is found to 
their satisfaction. So far, however, but little attention has been 
given to stock raising. A few improved breed of cattle, some 
good stallions and jacks, have been imported, and as the suc- 
cessful result, mules, horses and grade cattle, large and fine in 
appearance and quality, can be shown in some sections, but no 
one as yet has made stock-raising a business. The advantages 
in cheap and good grazing lands, in well watered locations, in 
sheltered and retired feeding grounds, and in good markets 
within easy driving distance, are as good and better than that 
of any other county. 

The timber growth of the county is enormous. The hills 
and uplands are covered with large and tall pines, some as much 
as 13 feet in girth, and the bottoms have an abundance of all 
varieties of southern oak, hickory, beech, walnut, gum, pecan, 
all of which attain enormous size. In the uplands and hills the 
county offers fine opportunity for fruit culture, as all varieties 
may be grown here. Peaches, apples do best, and grapes luxu- 
riate in a wild state almost equal in quality to the cultivated 
kind, of which the scuppernong and Concord have the prefer- 
ence' here. 

About one-fifth of the area of the county is improved ; 
50,940 acres belong to the United States and are subject to 
homestead entry, a large tract of land belongs to the State of 
lands forfeited for non-payment of taxes and are subject to 
donation; 28,100 acres are owned by the St. Louis, Iron Moun- 
tain & Southern Railroad Company. 

All these lands vary in price, for improved from $5 to $20, 
and for unimproved from 50c. to ^5.00 per acre. The facilities 
for shipment of its resources have been, and are still, very 
meagre. Lumber may be rafted down the Ouachita and Saline 
rivers at certain favorable stages of the water, the Ouachita 
river being the southwestern and the Saline river the north- 
eastern boundaries of the county. Besides these streams, 



(72) 

which are sometimes navigable, other constantly running waters, 
the Bayou Moro on the eastern boundary, Low Freight creek 
in the northwestern corner, Cypress creek. Bayou Tulip, Bayou 
Fria and their numerous branches water nearly every section. 
Water for domestic purposes is obtained from wells and springs, 
and is mostly soft and clear. 

There are no mineral springs in the county that have be- 
come noted as curative agents. 

The population consists of about 7,000, of which nearly 
one-third are negroes. About twenty school-houses, nine post- 
offices, and churches of the Baptist, Methodist and Presby- 
terian denominations are distributed over the county. 

Princeton, the county seat, with about 200 population, is a 
growing town with a number of thriving stores, and Fordyce, 
situated on the Texas & St. Louis narrow-guage roaci, has a 
population of about 300, and being the only railroad station of 
the county, does considerable business. There is some talk of 
another projected railroad to intersect the county, and running 
north and south through Princeton. Should this project be 
realized, it would make Dallas one of the most desirable 
counties of the State to locate in. 

DESHA COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY JAMES MURPHY, ESQ.) 

Situated at the junction of the Arkansas and White rivers 
with the Mississippi river, which forms its entire eastern bound- 
ary ; on the north it is bounded by Phillips and Arkansas counties ; 
on the west by Lincoln and Drew counties, and on the south 
by Chicot county. It embraces an area of 550,000 acres of 
level land, with Iiere and there a few mounds, three-quarters of 
which is alluvial and one-quarter second bottom soil of a loamy 
character. 

About 78,000 acres are improved, 40,000 belong to the 
State,^and 4,186 acres are owned by the M. & L. R. R. Co. 
There are no government lands in the county. The prices of 
land vary; for improved, ^$15 to ;^30; for unimproved, from 50c. 
to $^ per acre. 

Cotton and corn are the staple crops, but sweet and Irish 
potatoes, oats, millet and sorghum are cultivated with success. 
Cotton produces from 700 to 1300 pounds of seed cotton ; corn, 
from 25 to 35 bushels; oats, from 30 to 50 bushels per acre, 
and Irish and sweet potatoes and turnips yield from 250 to 400 
bushels per acre. Millet and red clover grow remarkably well, 
clover with a result of 2 tons and millet i ton to the acre. 

Apples, peaches, pears, apricots and figs yield good re- 
turns, and the woods arc full of all the native grapes. While 
this county is well adapted to stock raising in any direction, 
only of late years the interest has been developed to the intro- 



[73) 

duction of thoroughbred Durham and Alderney bulls and 
grade cattle, and also of several breeds of improved hogs, all of 
which are thriving. 

There is no pine timber in this county, but several large 
cypress brakes and an abundance of white, black, red, cow, 
water, overcup and post oaks, and also sweet, red and black 
gum fill the forests and occupy a large area, and the Arkansas, 
White and Mississippi rivers and the railroads furnish ample 
means of transportation. 

The Little Rock, Mississippi River & Texas Railroad from 
Arkansas City to Little Rock, and the branch of this road from 
Arkansas City to Monticello and Warren, cross Desha county 
in a westerly direction, and the above mentioned rivers, and in 
addition the Bayou Bartholomew and Cypress creek are all 
navigable. The population of Desha is 10,000, of which nearly 
7000 are negroes. 

There are 18 school districts, with 34 free schools open 
about six months in the year; 34 church buildings, about 
equally divided between the Baptists and Methodist denomina- 
tions. 

Arkansas City, the county seat, has a population of looo; 
Laconia, 250; Watson, 100; Red Fork, 100; White River, lOO. 

The water for domestic purposes is obtained from cisterns 
and wells, and the water of the latter is generally hard. 

DREW COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY HON. J. T. W. TILLAR.) 

This county is in the southeastern quarter of the State, 
within twelve miles of the Mississippi river, is bounded on the 
north by Lincoln and Desha counties, on the east by Desha and 
Chicot, on the south by Ashley, and on the west by Bradley 
and Cleveland counties. 

The area is about 800 square miles, with a population of 
nearly 15,000, of which 6,000 are colored. The face of the 
country shows a high gravelly ridge, running through the 
center from north to south, wide in the northern portion of the 
county and narrowing and declining gently towards the south- 
ern portion until it becomes level toward the bottoms of the 
Bayou Bartholomew, one-half of the country being rolling hills 
and the other half alluvial, with the exception of about 2,000 
acres of prairie land. 

One-sixth of the county is improved, 5,000 acres belong to 
the State, the Little Rock, Mississippi River & Texas Railway 
own about 5,000 acres. 

The general crops of the county are corn, cotton, oats, 
wheat, potatoes and field peas. 

In the alluvial sections the soil is of a dark gray color, 
light and rich, and yields well, cotton producing 1,600 pounds 



(74) 

of seed cotton; corn, 40 bushels; wheat, 20 bushels; oats, 60 
bushels to the acre. In the uplands and hills there is much 
sandy and gravelly soil, mixed in the eastern part of the county 
with dark yellow clay, and producing : Cotton, about 600 
pounds seed cotton; corn, 20 bushels; wheat. 10 bushels; 
tobacco, 1,000 pounds; oats, 20 bushels ; rye, 10 bushels to the 
acre. The average yie4d of Irish potatoes is 200 bushels ; of 
sweet potatoes, 150 bushels; of turnips, 400 bushels; sorghum 
makes 150 gallons per acre, and field peas produce 25 bushels 
per acre. 

The cultivated varieties of grass do well. Timothy harvests 
I ton, red top i ton, clover 3 tons, millet 3 tons to the acre. 

Fruit is grown sparingly, though nearly all varieties of 
apples, peaches, plums, pears and grapes do well here. 

This county is well adapted to stock raising, but little has 
so far been done in this business. A few improved breeds have 
been introduced, and of these shorthorn cattle seem to do best. 

Fifty square miles of the county are covered with fine pine 
forests, and white oak is found anywhere in the county, and is 
of excellent quality. Along the bottoms of the Bayou Barthol- 
omew in the eastern part of the county, and the bottoms of the 
Saline river in the western part, large and extensive cypress 
brakes abound. The facilities for getting out and shipping 
these timber resources are generally good. The Little Rock, 
Mississippi River and Texas Railroad crosses the center of the 
county from west to east, striking the Mississippi river at 
Arkansas City, and the Saline and Bartholomew furnish good 
water transportation, and their tributaries excellent float roads 
to the Ouachita river. 

One shingle mill and a few saw mills are found in the 
county. 

Lands improved can be bought from $3 to $35 per acre, 
unimproved from 50 cents to $10 per acre. There are about 
52 common schools and 3 high schools, one at Monticello, one 
at Rock Springs and one at Selma. 

Every settlement nearly, has a church-house, and there are 
thus about 50 meeting-houses belonging to the Methodist, Bap- 
tist and Presbyterian denominations. 

Monticello, the county seat, has a population of 1,500, 
Selma 150, Collin 100, Tillar 100. 

FAULKNER COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED P,V J. V. MITCHELL.) 

Is one of the central counties of the State, and is bounded 
on the west by the Arkansas river and the Cadron creek, which 
latter separates it from Conway county, on the north by Van 



(75) 

Buren and Cleburne, on the east by White and Lonoke, and on 
the south by Pulaski counties. It contains tyG square miles of 
land ; has a population of i6,000 about 2,000 of which are col- 
ored, .and is pre-eminently agricultural, though lead, copper and 
other minerals have been found, which, however, have never 
been developed. 

One-sixth of all lands are improved* 3,900 acres belong to 
the United States, 3,500 to the State, and about 50,000 to rail- 
roads, principally to the L. R. & Ft. Smith Ry Co. 

The soil is good and productive in the bottoms and up- 
lands, but little or no account in the mountains. The face of 
the country is rolling, with slight elevations varying from 50 to 
I 50 feet in height.. 

Cotton, corn, oats, wheat and rye are the principal crops 
raised for market, but all other farm products do well and yield 
good results. 

Cotton produces about 500 pounds of seed cotton to the 
acre on uplands, and on bottoms, 1,200 pounds; corn yields 
from 25 to 40 bushels; wheat, from 8 to 10 ; oats, from 25 to 
40; rye, 7 bushels;' Irish and sweet potatoes and turnips, 200 
to 250 bushels; and field peas, 10 bushels per acre. 

The cultivated varieties of grasses are much grown and 
succeed very well, timothy, red top, clover and millet produc- 
ing sometimes two tons to the acre. Fruits are cultivated and 
succeed well, and peaches, plums and grapes pay abundantly; of 
the grapes, the Concord and Virginia varieties especially. In- 
crea.'-.ing interest is felt in the raising of good stock, for which 
the county seems well adapted. 

In the forests we have oaks of the different varieties, wal- 
nut, both black and white, cypress in considerable quantities in 
the bottoms, and pine, butternut and hickory in the hilly por- 
tions, and the Arkansas river and Little Rock & Ft. Smith Rail- 
road furnish ample means of transportation for the southern 
part of the county and for its timber. The county is well 
watered by running streams, some of which, the Cadron and 
Palarno, are perhaps good floating roads, but otherwise not 
navigable. Land is moderate in price. Improved land can be 
bought for from $5 to ;^25 ; unimproved for from ^2.50 to $10. 

There are as yet no manufactories in the county. We 
have 88 public schools, kept open three months in the year, 
and one high school at Conway. Church privileges exist all 
over the county. 

Our towns are Conway, with 1,400; Greenbriar, 400; Pin- 
nacle Springs, 200; Mt, Vernon, 300. Of mineral springs, 
which have been health resorts for a number of years, we have 
Pinnacle and Cascade Springs, the virtue of which and their 
analysis is the subject matter of circulars published by their 
proprietor. 



(76) 
GARLAND COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY GEORGE (i. LATTA.) 

Is in the Ouachita river valley, and bounded by Saline, 
Perry, Montgomery and Hot Spring counties. It has an^rea 
of 624 square miles and a resident population of 15,000, of 
whom 2,000 are negroes. 

The face of the country is half mountainous and hilly, the 
other heavily wooded levels. About one-third of the area is 
improved and fenced, four sections at Hot Springs belongs to 
the United States, and the majority of all the lands in the 
county belong to the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 
Railway — about 37,800 acres. This is not much of an agri- 
cultural county, though corn, oats, millet, and about 1,000 bales 
of cotton, as well as potatoes and other field and garden truck 
is grown here, the average yield of corn per acre being about 
25 to 30 bushels. Fruit, such as apples, peaches, pears, plums, 
strawberries, cherries and quinces succeed well here, and of 
grapes, the Delaware and scuppernong produce well. 

The county being heavily wooded is not very suitable for 
the raising of stock, there being no grazing lands, but the 
Cherokee and Jersey cattle do well here. 

Our timber consists mostly of yellow pine and sweet gum, 
though black gum and all kinds of southern oaks are found 
plentifully. 

The high freight rates on the Hot Springs Railway is in 
the way of the shipment of lumber, and the Ouachita river is not 
navigable. 

All kinds of minerals are believed to exist here, but none 
have been found in paying quantities. Novaculity, for oil 
stones is very plentiful, and Ouachita whetstones have been 
shipped in quantities. Slate, for roofing, is also found of ex- 
cellent quality. 

The Hot Springs Railroad furnishes transportation, but 
charges extortionate rates, hindering all development of our re- 
sources. Rates are as high from Malvern to Hot Springs (20 
miles) as from New York to Little Rock. 

We have 2 ice factories, i mineral water factory, several 
cotton gins, 2 whetstone and oil-stone mills, and a roofing-slate 
factory is being established. 

In Hot Springs we have 6 common schools, i each for 
white and colored children in the 3 respective wards of the 
city ; also a convent school and 4 or 5 private schools, and also 
about 6 other district schools in the county. These are kept 
open from 6 to 9 months, except in the country, where they are 
open only during the winter and spring months. 

Improved lands can be bought from ^3 to ^20 per acre ; 
unimproved for 'from cost of papers to ^5 per acre. The gen- 
eral character of the soil in the bottoms is rich, but gravelly and 



i77) 

stony, in the uplands, stony and poor, except in a few localities, 
and in the mountains worthless. 

The smaller creeks of the county generally dry up after 
June 1st until December rains. 

Springs, but mostly wells, are used for domestic purposes. 
Of mineral springs we have at Hot Springs the world-renowned 
waters, also potash sulphur near Lawrence station, and at 
Mountain Valley chalybeate and several alleged sulphur springs. 

The Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and Cath- 
olic all have church-houses in the county. 

Our prominent communities are: Hot Springs city 7,000 
permanent and 3,000 floating population, South Hot Springs 
500, Lawrence 100, Shanghai City 200, Whittington 150, Moun- 
tain Valley 100, Shippey lOO, Blakely 50, Mountain Glen 100, 
Meyers 50, White Mill 50, Potash Sulphur, 50. 
GRANT COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY J. S. WILLIAMS.) 

This county has for its boundaries Saline, Jefferson, Cleve- 
land, Dallas and Hot Spring counties, about 642 square miles 
of area; and nearly 7,000 population, about 600 being colored. 

The face of the county is nearly level, about one-half of 
the area being alluvial and no prairies. 

One-tenth of the lands arc improved. 

Twenty-one thousand four hundred acres are United States 
lands and subject to homestead entry. 

The crops of the county are mainly cotton and corn. Oats, 
wheat, Irish and sweet potatoes and millet .are grown, however, 
plentifully. 

Cotton m\\ produce from 500 to 1,000 pounds of seed cot- 
ton per acre, corn from 15 to 20 bushels, wheat from 10 to 12 
bushels, oats from 15 to 20 bushels; Irish and sweet potatoes 
and turnips will yield from 100 to 200 bushels; sorghum from 
75 to 125 gallons of syrup per acre. 

Cultivated grasses do well, but are not extensively grown. 
Peaches, pears, plums and apples succeed well anywhere in the 
county, and can be grown here as fine as anywhere. Apples 
are generally the surest crop. Concord, Delaware and other 
varieties of grapes all yield bountifully. Various wild fruits 
grow everywhere, and are almost the equal of the cultivated. 

Little or no attention is given to stock raising, but a few 
improved hogs and cattle have been introduced. 

Our timber is fine and abundant. Pine as fine as the world 
can show. White oak is plentiful. The county is generally 
covered with pine on the hills and uplands and the bottoms 
with oak. 

We have no facilities for shipping lumber or anything, ex- 
cept by hauling per axle. There are no railroads or navigable 
streams in the county. 



(78) 

Our county is tolerably well watered. We have the Saline 
river and a number of lesser streams running the year round. 
The water for domestic purposes is generally soft. We have 
some mineral springs which claim medical virtues and wonder- 
ful properties, but no analysis has ever been made. 

Our common schools number 6o, and they are open from 
3 to lo months in'the year. Church-houses are plentiful, the 
Missionary Baptist, Primitive Baptist, Free Will Baptist, Metho- 
dist, Cumberland Presbyterian, Christian and other denomina- 
tions being represented. 

We have no cities. Of towns we have Sheridan, population 
lOO; Prattsville, Grapevine, Belfast. 

The soil of the county is generally good. The improved 
land can be bought for from $i to ^15, and the unimproved 
from 50 cents to $10 per acre, 

GREENE COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBU'lED BY R. H. GARDNER, ESQ.) 

Situated in the northeastern corner of the State ; separ- 
ated from Missouri on the east by the St. Francis river, 
bounded on the north by Clay, on the west by Randolph and 
Lawrence, and on the south by Craighead counties. 

The topography of the county is about the same as Clay 
with Crawley's Ridge in the center, and sloping off on the east 
to the St. Francis, on the west to the Cache river. 

The area of the county is nearly 625 square miles ; about 
two-thirds of it is bottom, but not overflow, and one-third hilly. 
The soil in the bottoms is a black sand, in the hills, clay with 
sand. The alluvial lands on both the eastern and the western 
slope, are not excelled for the growing of cotton, corn, oats, 
and any other farm products. 

Cotton will yield on hill lands 800 pounds ; on bottoms, 
1,200 pounds of seed cotton per acre; corn will produce from 
30 to 40 bushels ; wheat, from 10. to 12 bushels ; oats, from 50 
to 75 Dushels ; Irish and sweet potatoes, 125 bushels; sorghum, 
100 gallons of syrup, and field peas, 40 bushels per acre. 

Timothy, herds grass and clover, millet and Hungarian 
grass grows well, and produce from one to one and a-half tons 
per acre. 

All the larger kind of fruit, especially apples, produce well. 
Small fruit, such as strawberries, are being successfully culti- 
vated. 

No attention has so far been paid to the raising of stock, 
and few improved breeds have been introduced so far. 

The timber of this county is valuable, as the railroad fur- 
nishes a market at St. Louis. Yellow poplar, oaks of great 
variety, black walnut, beech, gum, pine, etc., grow in every 
section. 



(79) 

Four railroads, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 
Railway and the Helena Branch, the Texas & St. Louis, and 
the Memphis & Kansas City Railway, intersect the county, and 
the Cache and St. Francis river, the latter of which is navigable 
through a portion of the county. The population is about 
9,000, of which are colored. 

We have about forty-eight schools, kept open from three 
to ten months, and a number of church houses — about sixty — 
belonging to the Methodist, Baptist, Christian and Presbyterian 
denominations. About 33,000 acres of the county is under 
improvement, 2,720 acres are United States lands, which may 
be entered under the homestead act by paying for the fihng of 
the papers, or may be purchased outright at $1.25 per acre. 
About 7,000 acres belong to the State, and 38,800 acres are 
owned by the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway. 

The water, in the county is obtained from springs and wells 
25 to 100 feet deep, and is mostly soft. 

Gainesville, the county seat, is an old settlement of some 
commercial importance, with about 300 population; Paragould, 
about 1,700 inhabitants. 

HEMPSTEAD COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY CHARLES BOURNE.) 

This county lies within ranges 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 
west, and townships 9, 10, ii, 12, 13 and 14 south, and contains 
some 720 square miles. Originally one of the six large coun- 
ties into which the State was divided, its territory has succes- 
sively been cut off to make new counties until now no more is 
left than the area mentioned. It, however, is one of the mo.st 
prosperous and productive counties in the State, embracing 
within its borders extremely valuable lands. Fifty-three thous- 
and three acres within the county are owned by the St, Louis, 
Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company, and about 30,- 
000 acres were donated to the Arkansas & Louisiana Railroad 
Company, but have been sold since to land speculators in Illi- 
nois. 

It is admirably Avatered by numerous creeks, and is well 
furnished with valuable timbers. The principal of these creeks 
are the North, Middle and South forks of the Ozan, Yellow 
Plum, Bridge, Bois d'Arc, Bodcord and the Terre Rouge, while 
the Little Missouri river and Hickory creek form the northern, 
Red River the southern, and Little river and the Saline, pai- 
tially, its western boundary. 

The lands on Red river are very rich and productive, and 
though they overflow every spring, the consequent enrichment 
of the soil more than repays the farmer for this inconvenience. 

But the richest and most valuable lands in Hempstead 
county are those known as the "black lands," lying in townships 



(8o) 

9, lO, II and 12, All of this region is known as the "cretace- 
ous formation." Large quantities of sea shells are found scat- 
tered about, and is produced by the mixture of the lime, or 
rather indurated chalk, which underlies the soil, with vegetable 
matter, and is of inexhaustible fertilty. In the creek bottoms 
the soil, from constant washings of the upper lands, attains a 
depth of several feet, and fields of this kind have been worked 
productively for half a century continuously, without a particle 
of manure. 

Next in point of value and fertility are the red, gravelly 
lands, lying in Mine Creek and Red Land Townships. These 
are easily worked and very productive. They are more easily 
exhausted than the black lands, but owing to the ease with 
which they are worked are very nearly as valuable. These are 
mostly owned by small proprietors, who make prosperous livings 
out of them, while the black lands are generally owned in large 
blocks, and let out in small holdings by the year, the rental 
being from four to five dollars per acre. 

Other lands in the county may be classed in point of value 
about as follows : The red sandy land found in the Wallace- 
burg vicinity, the gray sandy land found in the Springhill 
vicinity, the mulatto lands about Guernsey, and the post-oak 
flats near Hope. These lands, while not exhibiting the extreme 
fertility of the black and red gravelly lands, will well repay the 
efforts of the industrious farmer. 

The timber of the county is abundant and diverse. On 
the black lands will be found oak, ash, hickory, elm, and the 
celebrated " bois d'arc ;" the red gravelly lands, the red sandy 
lands and the gray sandy lands grow pine, oak, hickory and 
dogwood, and the mulatto and post-oak lands are covered" with 
post oak and black oak. 

The principal products of Hempstead county are cotton 
and corn. The black lands and the red gravelly lands yield 
from one-half to one bale of cotton, and from 25 to 50 bushels 
of corn to the acre ; red river lands yield about the same, and* 
other lands grow variously from 15 to 25 bushels of corn, and 
from one-third to one-half a bale of cotton to the acre, creek 
bottoms often yielding more. 

Peas, sweet and Irish potatoes, and other garden produce 
grow well ; of Irish potatoes, beans and turnips, two crops per 
annum can be raised. 

Fruits of all kinds produce abundantly, especially peaches, 
Hempstead county having some of the finest peaches in the 
South. 

Some attention has been given of late to cultivated grasses, 
clover and timothy mixed, giving the best results, and a yield 
equal to 6,000 pounds per acre has been harvested. Tobacco, 
sorghum and oats are also productive crops, but so far have 



(8i) 

been only grown for home consumption; wheat yields from lO 
to 20 bushels per acre, but is not much grown. 

Cattle, sheep and hogs are easily raised, and, in fact, 
a farmer can raise everything that he requires, and have cotton 
enough to sell each year to keep him well supplied with money. 

The price of land in this county ranges from $^ per acre 
to ^25 for improved, and from ^3 to ^10 for unimproved lands. 

Hempstead county is financially in a prosperous condition, 
being almost entirely out of debt. Washington, one of the 
oldest towns in the State, with a population of about 800, is the 
county seat and has a handsome brick courthouse and a brick 
jail. It is connected by a standard gauge railway in one direc- 
tion with Hope on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 
Railway, in another direction with Nashville, in Howard county, 
the length of the road being twenty-seven miles. It enjoys 
telegraph and telephone facilities, and has a mail twice a day. 
The Iron Mountain railway traverses the county from east to 
west, running through the town of Hope, a place of about 1,500 
inhabitants, crossing Red river at Fulton, a town of consider- 
able commercial importance. There are also several thriving 
villages throughout the county which are centers of trade — 
Ozan, Columbus, Wallaceburg, Guernsey, Bingen and Em.met. 

The county possesses several mineral springs of approved 
medicinal virtue; one at Washington and one at Shover Springs 
have been analyzed and found to be valuable and efficacious 
mineral waters. 

HOT SPRING COUNTY. 

(CO\'TRIBUTKD P.Y HUGHES & CURL, OF MALVERN ) , 

Situa^ted in the central portion of the State in the Ouachita 
river valley, and bounded on the north by Garland and Saline, 
on the east by Grant, on the south by Dallas and Clark, and on 
the west by a part of Montgomery counties, contains an area of 
610 square miles and a population of 10,877, of which 745 belong 
to the colord race. 

The facial features of the county are one-fourth mountainous, 
one-fourth hills, one-third level and one-sixth alluvial. About 
five per cent of the land is improved, of the remainder one-fifth 

belongs to the United States and acres are owned by 

the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway. 

The prices of land vary according to location — for im- 
proved lands from ^4 to $^0, for unimproved from fifty cents to 
^30. 

The soil in the bottoms is a dark, sticky, sometimes a 
sandy loam ; in the uplands some sandy, some clay, and in the 
mountains rocky. 

Corn, cotton, oats, millet, potatoes, with some wheat and 
rye, are raised. Cotton will yield on the hills about 300, on the 



(82) : 

'bottom lands about 600 pounds to the acre; the average yield 
of corn is from 18 to 30 bushels, of wheat from 8 to 12 bushels, 
oats from 25 to 50 bushels rye from 8 to 12 bushels, Irish 
potatoes, sweet potatoes and turnips bring from 200 to 250 
bushels per acre. 

Of fruits, apples, peaches, pears and plums, as well as 
small fruit, are successfully cultivated here. Of grapes, the 
Concord, Ives seedling, Martha, Delaware and other varieties 
yield abundantly. There are in the county large tracts of yel- 
low pine, good bodies of white oak, and other timber trees, and j 
the facilities for marketing the lumber are good, within a haul- 
ing distance from the railroads. 

The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway taverses 
the country diagonally from its northeastern corner in a south- 
westerly direction, and the Hot Springs narrow gauge road runs 
from Malvern in a northwestern direction. ' 

Of streams, we have the Ouachita river and a number of 
smaller creeks, which, however, are not navigable. 

Some magnetic iron ore, supposed to be coal, is found in 
the county, but no mineral has so far been developed. 

A number of saw-mills are distributed along the railroad, 
principally in Malvern. Water for domestic use is obtained 
from wells and springs, and is soft and healthy. 

There are no mineral springs of any note in the county, a 
few chalybeate springs have only a local importance. 

There are 35 common schools distributed over the county, 
which, according to the financial ability of the district, are open 
from 3 to 9 months in the year, and at Malvern a public school 
with higher grades furnishes more liberal education. 

Every neighborhood has its church-houses, and the Meth- 
odist and Presbyterian denominations are well represented in 
the county. 

HOWARD COUNTY. 

Is situated in the southeast corner of the State and in the 
Red'^river valley, and is bounded by the counties of Polk, Pike, 
Hempstead, Little River and Sevier. Howard county contains 
■630 square miles, and has a population of about 10,000 inhab- 
itants, about 2,500 of whom are colored. 

The face of the county is towards the south and center 
level and the northern part mountainous and hilly, that is, 
about one-sixth mountainous, one-sixth hilly, four-sixths allu- 
vial, and no prairie. 

Nearly 44,812 acres of the lands are improved, about one- 
quarter of all the area acres belong to the United States, 

and are subject to the Homestead Act, one-twentieth 

acres belong to the State, and the St. L., I. M. & S. R, R. owns 
27,100 acres. 



{^3) 

The soil of the county consists in the bottom of a black 
sandy loam, in the uplands of red and black and gray sandy 
loam, and in the mountains it is of a sandy and rocky character. 
The prices of improved lands are from $3 to ^15, and of unim- 
proved lands from ;^i.50 to $10. 

The crops of the county are those usually common in this 
latitude, corn, cotton, wheat, oats, rye, potatoes, peas, 
sorghum and barley, all of which produce good harvests. Cot- 
ton on hill lands yields 500 pounds of seed-cotton, on bottoms 
1,000 pounds; corn from 15 to 40 bushels; wheat from 8 to 12 
bushels ; oats from 20 to 60 bushels ; rye from 8 to 12 bushels ; 
Irish potatoes from 40 to 50 bushels; sweet potatoes from 150 
to 200 bushels; sorghum from 80 to 150 gallons; field peas 
15 to 25 bushels per acre. The cultivated varieties of grasses 
succeed tolerably well, red top and other varieties being grown, 
but so far not a great deal of attention has been given to these 
grasses. 

Live stock raising is beginning to take some prominence, 
but the improved breeds have not yet been introduced to any 
extent. 

We have nearly all kinds of timber growing. Pine is on 
all except black lands. White oak is found all over the county 
and cypress in abundance in the stream bottoms. 

Our facilities for shipping are poor. The Arkansas & 
Louisiana Railway touches only a few miles of the county. Of 
streams, which, however, are not navigable, we have the Cassa- 
tot and Saline, both tributaries of Little river and the Little 
Missouri, with its forks, tributary to the Oauchita river. 

We have minerals, but they have not been developed to 
any extent. Coal, koaline, iron, antimony, gypsum, silver and 
lead have been found. At Nashville we have an iron foundry, 
but otherwise no manufactories. 

Schools are found in all settlements, open from three to 
nine months in the year, and at Mineral Springs and Center 
Point we have good high schools. Churches of all denomina- 
tions are found in all neighborhoods throughout the county. 

The county is well watered by creeks and running streams. 
Plum creek. Mica creek, Holly creek, Messa creek, Bear creek 
and Muddy Fork are the principal ones among them, and afford 
fine privileges for .stock all the year. 

Water for domestic purposes is obtained from both springs 
and wells, and is hard in black lands and soft elsewhere. We 
have many mineral springs of sulphur, chalybeate, iron, arsenic, 
lime and alkaline properties, but so far their virtues have only 
a local interest, 

Our principal to.wns are Saratoga with 100, Corinth lOO, 
Mineral Springs 500, Centre Point 700, and Nashville with 
1,000 inhabitants. • 



(84) 
INDEPENDENCE COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED T.Y M. A. WYCOUGH ) 

111 the White river valley, and bounded by Izard, Sharp, 
Lawrence, Jackson, White, Cleburne and Stone counties. It 
embraces an area of 645 square miles, with a population of 
about 23,000, of which about 1,700 are colored. 

The general face of the county on the river bottom is level 
and very rich ; the uplands level, with good soil, and the moun- 
tain parts generally contain minerals. 

Only about 43,211 acres are mproved and in the hands of 
private parties; 11,645 acres belong to the State, and 39,000 to 
the United States subject to entry for homesteads, and 43,211 
acres to railroads, 29,100 acres of which is owned by the St. 
Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad. 

Corn and cotton, oats, wheat and rye, grasses of all kinds, 
potatoes, beans, peas and all other farm products usually grown ' 
in this climate grow well here. 

Cotton produces on hill lands 800 pounds of seed cotton, 
and on bottom lands 1,500 pounds to the acre, and the average 
yield of corn is from 25 to 45 bushels, of wheat from 8 to 15 
bushels, tobacco 800 to 1,200 pounds, oats from 20 to 50 
bushels, rye from 8 to 20 bushels, Irish potatoes 200 bushels, 
sweet potatoes 300 bushels, turnips 200 bushels, sorghum 150 
gallons syrup, field peas 50 bushels per acre. 

Timothy yields 2,000, red top 2,000, clover 3,000, millet 
4,000, Hungarian 2,000 pounds per acre. 

Independence county is eminently suited to the culture of 
fruits of all the leading kinds. Apples, pears, peaches, and all 
small fruits yield abundantly here. Of grapes, the Concord, 
White and Martha, all yield well, and the mountainous part of 
the county is excellent for the culture of this fruit. 

Stock-raising has not as yet received the attention which 
the fitness of the country for this particular industry should 
warrant. Improved stock has been introduced by a few and 
have done well. 

Timber of all kinds grows in the country in large bodies, 
oak, hickory, ash, gum, elm, live oak, cedar pine, only the latter 
has not any extensive areas. We have facility of shipment by 
railroad and river, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 
Railway ; and White and Black rivers are navigable streams, and 
their tributaries in the county could be used for floating. 

Manganese, silver, gold, copper and zinc are found in the 
mountains, and the manganese lands are now worked. 

The county has an abundance of good running water- 
courses and springs and water for domestic purposes, both hard 
and soft is obtained from springs, wells and cisterns. A fev^ 
mineral springs containing sulphur and iron are found in the 



(85) 

county, but are not used for curative agencies except for local 
purposes. 

The educational facilities of the county are as good as any 
in the State. We have 70 common schools open about 5 
months in the year, and a high school, Arkansas College, 
located at Batesville. 

Sixty-eight church-houses are distributed throughout the 
county in the principal neighborhoods, and the Methodist 
Egiscopal, Baptists, Presbyterians and Christians are repre- 
sented largely. 

Our principal towns are, Batesville, with a population of 
2,500; Jamestown, 75; Sulphur Rock, 300; Newark, 200; 
Pleasant Plains, lOO. 

IZARD COUNTY 

Is in the northern part of the State and in the White river 
valley, which runs along its entire southwestern boundary and 
divides it from Stone county; further Izard county is bounded 
by Baxter county, Fulton county. Sharp and Independence 
counties. 

The area of the county is nearly 600 square miles, and its 
population about 11,000, of whom about 200 are colored. 

The face of the county presents rolling uplands, hills and 
mountains in the north and center, covering about one-third of 
its area, and bottom lands of alluvial character along the south 
and western slope of the county, the northeastern and eastern 
portion draining into Black river and the western, central and 
southern part into White river. 

The staple crops of the county are cotton and corn, but 
though these are principally grown, all other farm and garden 
products, grain, grasses, fruit and vegetables yield good re 
turns. Cotton on uplands yields 500 pounds of seed-cotton, on 
bottoms about 1,600 pounds to the acre; corn will produce 30 
to 50 bushels; oats from 25 to 50 bushels; wheat, 12 bushels ; 
potatoes, both Irish and sweet, 200 to 300 bushels ; turnips 
nearly the same ; peas, 40 bushels ; sorghum, 100 gallons per 
acre ot cane ; timothy and red top, 2 tons of hay ; clover and 
millet, 3 1-2 to 4 tons per acre. 

The soil of the county is superior in quality. In the bot- 
toms it is a dark, rich, sandy loam, in the uplands a sandy loam 
with a clay subsoil. There are about 57,000 acres of land im- 
proved. The balance of the land is covered with an abundance 
of most excellent timber, one-third of the entire area of the 
country being large pine forests and white oak and other 
varieties of oak, hickory and gum are in abundance. 

The facilities for shipment are by way of White river and 
the White River Branch of the St. L., I. M. & S. R. R. 

There are also a number of good running streams dis- 
tributed all over the county, and affording fine watering for 



(86) 

stock, the raising of which for market could be made a profit- 
able business here. As yet not much attention is given in this 
direction. 

There are 64 school districts in the county and a large 
number of churches. 

The county seat is Melbourne, with a population of 
about 300. 

JACKSON COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY L. MINOR, ESQ.) 

Jackson county is situate in the White River Valley, hav- 
ing Black river upon the north and White river running through 
the county. Each of these rivers are navigable for steamboats 
throughout the year. In area it is 650 square miles. Its popu- 
lation is 13,000, 2,000 of whom are colored. The face of the 
country presents a level surface, with exception of thirty-six 
sections, which is hilly. With this exception the soil of the 
county is alluvial. About one-fifth of the lands are improved. 
There are 1,840 acres of land in the county belonging to the 

United States, and subject to homestead entry; there are 

acres belonging to the State, and subject to donation ; 30,000 
acres are owned by the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 
Railway Company. 

Corn, cotton, wheat, oats, clover, timothy, millet, orchard 
and red top grass are generally grown in this county, and the 
average yield per acre is of seed cotton, 800 to 1,500 pounds; 
of corn from 30 to 45 bushels; wheat, from 10 to 29 bushels; 
oats, from 20 to 30 bushels; Irish and sweet potatoes, lOO 
bushels, turnips, 200 bushels. All kinds of cultivated varieties 
of grass succeed well. Large tracts of land have been sowed 
in timothy, and the average yield per acre is, of timothy, 4,000 
pounds ; clover, 5,000 pounds ; and millet, 8,000 pounds. Straw- 
berries and raspberries, peaches and plums are successfully 
grown. Peaches and strawberries succeed best, and are raised 
for shipment to Northern markets. 

This county is well adapted to the growth of livestock, and 
much attention is being directed to the introduction of im- 
proved breeds. The importations have been for the most part 
of the Shorthorns and Hereford. The Hereford succeeds best. 

All varieties of the oak, red gum, ash and cypress grow in 
this county. Fine specimens of white oak are to be found in 
all parts of the county. Cypress is to be found in considerable 
bodies in the river bottoms. The facilities for marketing lumber 
leave but little to be desired. The White, Black and Cache 
rivers furnish excellent waterways, and the St. Louis, Iron 
Mountain & Southern Railway, and the Batesville & Brinkley 
Railroad furnish ample facilities for transporting lumber and 
timber by rail. The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 
Railway traverses the county from northeast to southwest, and 



(87) 

the Batesville & Brinkley Railroad traverses the county from 
northwest to southeast, furnishing communication by means of 
these two roads with all parts of the country. 

One stave factory and a large number of saw-mills are in 
operation in this county. 

Sixty-three public schools have been established in this 
county, and are kept open from 3 to 9 months in each year. 

Improved lands are worth from $15 to ^50 per acre, unim- 
proved from ^i upwards, according to locality. 

The general character of the soil in the bottom is a dark 
loam, with but little sand, often 10 feet in depth, resting upon a 
stiff, blue clay ; upon the uplands it is a sandy loam with 
yellow subsoil. 

The country is well watered by constant running streams. 
That used for domestic purposes is obtained from wells ; some 
of it is hard and some soft. 

Every neighborhood has a church-house, and nearly every 
denomination of Christians is represented in this county. 

The towns in this county are, Newport, with a population 
of 3,000 ; Jacksonport, the county seat, with a population of 300^ 

JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY HON. J. S. McCAIN.) « 

This county contains nearly 800 square miles of land, and 
a population of about 22,500 inhabitants, 17,000 of whom are 
negroes. 

Jefferson county is situated in the valley of the Arkansas- 
river, which intersects the county, dividing it into almost two 
equal parts. It is bounded on the north by Lonoke and Pu- 
laski counties, on the east by Arkansas and Lincoln counties,. 
on the south by Cleveland county and on the west by Grant 
county. 

About three-fourths of the face of the county is alluvial,, 
the other fourth is hilly or what is called hill country, though 
even the hill country is flat and level. There are no prairies. 
Nearly one-sixth of the lands are improved. 

Nine thousand nine hundred and sixty acres of United 
States lands are subject to homestead entry. A large amount 
belongs to the State, mostly land forfeited for taxes. 

Some forfeited lands belong to the Little Rock, Mississippi 
River & Texas Railway Company. 

The general crops of the country are cotton and corn,, 
though some wheat, oats and other field and garden crops are 
raised. 

Cotton on uplands yields from 500 to 800 pounds of seed 
cotton, on bottom lands from i,O0O to 1, 600 pounds per acre. 

Corn yields on the hill* lands about 15 bushels, on bottom.' 



(88) 

lands from 25 to 30 bushels per acre; oats from 30 to 50 
bushels; wheat about 8 bushels. 

The cultivated grasses, wherever they have been tried, do 
■well and yield from one to two tons per acre. The soil in the 
bottoms is buckshot and very rich sandy loam in the uplands 
mostly wet, flat and poor, with branch lands generally good. 

Improved lands range in price from ^5 to ^30, and unim- 
proved from ^i to ;^io per acre. 

Fruits, such as grapes, raspberries, strawberries, plums, 
apples and peaches, succeed best in the order in which they are 
given. Watermelons also do well. 

A good deal of attention has been of late years paid to the 
raising of fancy breeds of cattle, such as the Jerseys, Holsteins, 
Alderneys and Durhams, but not much attention is being given 
to the raising of other stock. 

There is an abundance of good timber in the county ; in 
the hill lands, it is mostly pine, with oak in large areas ; in 
alluvial lands, large belts of cypress, oak and sweet gum, 
hickory and ash and considerable quantities of cottonwood and 
walnut abound. 

We have good facilities for the shipment of lumber. Two 
railroads, the L. R., M. R. & T., called the Arkansas Valley 
Route, and t^ie Texas & St. Louis, and Pine Bluff & Swan 
Lake Road, intersect each other at Pine Bluff, and the Arkansas 
river flowing through the county in a southeasterly direction by 
Pine Bluff, witli several good rafting streams tributary to it, 
furnish good facilities to southern and other markets. 

We have cotton-seed oil mills, ice factory, iron foundry, 
shingle and saw-mills. 

We have 50 to 75 common free schools, kept open from 3 
to 10 months in the year, a public high school, one academy 
for boys and one for girls. 

There are church houses in every settlement. In Pine 
BluiT the Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, Episcopalians, Jews, 
Northern Methodists and Cumberland Presbyterians are repre- 
sented. 

Pine Bluff, the principal city, has a population of 6,000 
inhabitants. 

JOHNSON COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY L. B. POYNER.) 

Contains about 700 square miles ; is located in the north- 
western part of the State, south of Madison and Newton 
counties ; bounded on the west by Franklin, on the east by 
Pope, and on the south by the Arkansas river. The general 
features of the county are hilly ; the Boston and Mulberry moun- 
tains traverse its northern areas, to the Arkansas river. The 
country is rolling, and near the Arkansas, along its banks, and 



( 89 ) 

for a short distance up from the mouths of creeks alluvial lands 
and little prairie patches elsewhere are found. 

About one-fifth of all the lands are improved. Some lands 
are still owned by the United States, and a few tracts sold for 
taxes are owned by the State, but the Little Rock Si Fort 
Smith Railroad owns a large area of land amounting to about 
^ acres. 

The crops raised in the county are principally corn, cotton, 
oats and wheat, of which cotton yields from 500 to 1,000 
pounds; corn, from 20 to 50 bushels; wheat., from 5 to 15 
bushels ; oats, from 25 to 50 bushels; Irish potatoes, 150 bush- 
els ; sweet potatoes, 200 bushels ; turnips, 300 bushels ; 
sorghum, lOO gallons ; peas, 30 bushels per acre. 

The soil is not adapted to any of the cultivated grasses, 
except German millet, which yields 4,500 pounds to the acre. 

Peaches, apples, pears, plums, yield abundantly; apples 
best in the mountainous districts. 

Little or no attention has as yet been paid to live-stock 
industry, though there exist no reasons why it could not be, 
made profitable if proper attention were given to it. 

The several varieties of oak and pine grow in many sec- 
tions, and can _ be shipped by wagons to the railroads and 
thence to the markets in Kansas .and Missouri. 

The Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad traverses the 
southern portion of the county from east to west, but of streams, 
with the exception of the Arkansas river, the southern boundary 
of the county, none are navigable. Among such streams, the 
Big and Little. Piney, Spadra, Horseheadand Mulberry creeks 
are the most prominent. Coal and iron have been found; but 
while there are several coal mines in successful and well-paying 
operation, the iron has not been developed yet. The facilities 
tor working mines and for transporting the product to market 
are good, and 100,000 tons have been shipped and sold in 
Little Rock. 

The prices of land range, for improved lands from $10 to 
I30, for unimproved from $2.50 to ;^io per acre, and the general 
character of the soil in the bottoms mostly alluvial and very 
fertile, in the uplands sandy but productive, and in the moun- • 
tains some black muck, and some light, sandy, sterile soil. 

The population of the county, according to the census of 
1880, was 11,565; now, it is nearly 15,000, with about 500 
negroes. 

There are seventy-two public schools, and one high school 
established at Clarksville, which are kept open from three to 
ten months, according to the financial condition of the district. 
Nearly every neighborhood has its church house, Methodists, 
Presbyterians and Baptists predominate, though there are a few 
of other denominations scattered throughout the county. 



(90) 

The county is well watered by running streams. The up- 
lands are supplied by springs and wells, and the water is gen- 
erally soft and excellent for domestic purposes. There are no 
mineral springs of much note. Low Gap. a spring of very cold 
chalybeate water, situated in the northern part of the county, 
has some local reputation and affords a summer resort for our 
citizens for botli health and pleasure. 

The principal towns are Clarkesville, with a population of 
about 1,000, a thriving and stirring little city, situated on the 
Little Rock & Fort Smith Railway, within lOi miles of Little 
Rock ; and Knoxville, Cabin Creek, Spadra, Hartman and Coal 
Hill, villages of a few hundred inhabitants, and located on the 
Little Rock & Fort Smith Railway. 

LAFAYETTE COUNTY. 

Is situated in the southwest-quarter of the State, its 
southern boundary being the State of Louisiana, and separated 
from Miller county on the west by the meanderings of Red 
river. On the north it is further bounded by Hempstead, and 
on the east by Nevada and Columbia counties. 

The area is about 500 square miles, of which 22,400 acres 
are United States land and subject to homestead entry, and 
8,450 acres belong to the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 
Railway Company. 

The population of the county is about 6,000, one-half of 
which is colored. 

The face of the county is principally alluvial, the ridges 
and hills running north and south through the county occupy- 
ing about one-third of its area, and attaining sometimes a height 
of 125 feet. One-third of the area is level bottoms and one- 
third undulating uplands. In the northern part of the county 
are considerable rich prairie lands. 

About 24,962 acres of improved lands are distributed over 
some 400 farms. 

The principal crops raised are cotton and corn, and though 
farm crops of other kinds can be grown here as well and with 
as good a return as elsewhere, these are the staples of the 
county. 

The soil in the hills and uplands has a foundation of gray, 
or red clay, alternating with a mixture of sand and gravel ; is 
retentive in its character, and produces from 800 to 1,000 pounds 
of seed cotton to the acre. The soil of the prairies consists of 
a black, sandy loam, and the bottoms have a similar character 
of soil. All these-lands produce well, and will grow up to 1,600 
pounds of seed cotton and 60 bushels of corn to the acre. 
Oats when grown yields 40 bushels ; sweet and Irish potatoes. 



(91) 

100 bushels ; sorghum, lOO gallons syrup ; field peas, 40 bush- 
els, and tobacco 1,000 pounds to the acre. 

The cultivated grasses are grown only by a few people, as 
the pasture both for summer and in the bottoms for the winter 
is abundant in grasses and cane. 

Stock-raising has not so far been engaged in as a business, 
but the county is well adapted to the comfort and perpetuation 
of all kinds of blooded cattle and stock. 

The culture of fruit is only practiced for domestic purposes, 
and then extends only to the planting of the trees and gather- 
ing of the fruit, but peaches, plums, apples and small fruit do 
exceedingly well here and some varieties of grapes, the Concord, 
scuppernong, Ives seedling, thrive and yield well. 

The timber growth of the county is abundant, producing 
all the kinds and varieties known in the country, and covering 
all the unimproved lands except the prairies ; the uplands are 
hilly, being abundant with fine pine and white oak timber, and 
the lowlands abounding in beech, gum, holly, maple, ironwood, 
and the red, black, pin and over-cup oaks, as well as good hick- 
ory and pecan. 

The shipping facilities for timber are good ; the Bayou 
Baydeau on the eastern slope of the county, and the Red river 
on the western boundary affording good floating and rafting 
roads and in the northern part of the county the Texas & St. 
Louis (narrow-guage) and the Little Rock, Mississippi River 
& Texas Railway pass through the county. There are about 
twelve free common schools and a number of church-houses of 
all denominations distributed through the different neighbor- 
hoods. Improved land can be bought from ;^5 to ^30, and 
unimproved from 50 cents to ^5 per acre. 

The county seat is Louisville, with a population of 500, 
and the other villages are Garland City, on Red river, with 200 
population; Mars Hill, 50; Walnut Hill, 75; and Hurricane 
Hill, 50. 

LAWRENCE COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY JAMES P. COFFIN.) 

One of the northeastern counties of the State, is situated 
in the valley of the Black river, one of the tributaries of White 
river. Its northernmost point is about 18 miles from the south- 
ern line of the State of Missouri, and it is bounded on the north 
by Randolph, on the east by Greene and Craighead, on the 
south by Jackson and Independence, and on the west by Sharpe 
counties. 

This county has about 600 square miles of area, and is 
generally of a good, fair character of soil, rich in bottoms, and 
with a clay foundation in the uplands and hills. 

About two-fifths of the area is hilly or rolling; three-fifths 



( 92 ) 

are level alluvial bottoms, of which nearly 50 square miles are 
subject to overflows. 

Nearly one-third of all the lands is improved. The United 
States own 8,720 acres, the State something over 22,000 acres, 
and about 26,000 acres belong to the St. Lpuis, Iron Mountain 
& Southern Railroad Company. 

The prices of land are, for improved, from $10 to ^40; for 
unimproved, from $1 to ;^io per acre. 

Cotton, corn, wheat, oats, all the grasses and both kinds 
of potatoes, as well as all garden and farm vegetables, do well 
here, but cotton and corn are the principal crops in the fields. 

Cotton yields on uplands, 600; on bottom lands, 1,000 
pounds of seed cotton per acre; corn, makes from 35 to 40 
bushels; wheat, 10; oats, 30; potatoes, 75 ; turnips, 100 bushels 
per acre. 

Clover, timothy, redtop and orchard grass are grown, and 
all produce well, from 2,000 to 4,000 pounds per acre. 

Small fruit succeeds admirably, next peaches, then apples. 

A good deal of attention is being paid to live stock, and 
the county is admirably adapted to its growth ; yet only few of 
the improved breeds have been introduced, and opinions as to 
what variety is best adapted are at variance. Limited experi- 
ments seem to incline to the Hereford, polled Angus and 
Alderney as the favorites. 

There is none but stunted growth of pine in the county. 
The extreme low ground on Cache and Black rivers, and their 
smaller tributaries furnish a great deal of cypress, while white 
oak grows all over the county, and in many localities in great 
luxuriance and vast quantities. The gum of this county is of 
superior quality and in scarcely exhaustible abundance. 
Hickory and ash are also well represented in the forests. 

Black river flows through the county in a generally south- 
westerly^ direction and is navigable at all seasons of the year, 
while Cache river, though not navigable, forms the eastern 
boundary of the county, and may be used for rafting and 

logging- 

The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway has 22 
miles, and the Kansas City, Springfield & Memphis Railway 30 
miles of road-bed within the limits of the county. The St. 
Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway crosses the county 
from northeast to southwest, and the Kansas City, Springfield 
& Memphis Railway from northwest to southeast, intersecting 
each other at Hoxie. 

Iron, zinc and lead have been worked but only to a limited 
extent. 

At Powhattan, the county seat, with a population of 300, 
we have a large woolen mill, running ten looms, and manufac- 



(93) 

turing all kinds of woolen cloths, as well as yarns ; fourteen 
steam mills are in operation throughout the county. 

For domestic purposes, both hard and soft water is obtained 
from wells and springs, and in the bottom cisterns are used to 
collect water. 

The population of Lawrence county is about I2,000, with 
about 500 negroes. We have forty-three free schools open three 
months to ten months in the year. The Methodists, Baptists, 
Primitive Baptists, Christians and Presbyterians have church- 
houses in all the principal neighborhoods and towns. We have 
a number of small thriving towns : Walnut Ridge, with a popu- 
lation of 600 ; Minturn, 100; Alicia, IGO; Clover Bend, 100; 
Portia, 300; Black Rock, 300; Smithville, 350; Imboden, 200; 
Ravenden, 75 ; Opposition, 75; Strawberry, 50; Sedgwick, 75. 

LEE COUNTY. 

This county having for its eastern boundary the Mississippi 
river, and otherwise bounded on the north by St. Francis, on 
the west by Monroe and on the south by Phillips counties; has 
an area of 385,099 acres, and a population of 17,000 inhabitants, 
10,000 of which are colored people. 

The general feature of the county is undulating. It is 
finely timbered, rich in alluvial deposits, with no mountains; 
about 18 sections are hilly, the balance level, and about one 
township prairie. Nearly one-sixth of the land is improved. 

There is no record of any land belonging to the United 
States, and only a few acres belong to the State. 

The soil in the uplands consists of black land and clay ; in 
the bottom it is buckshot and black sandy loam. 

Improved lands sell from ;^iO to ;^50, and unimproved 
lands from $2 to $y per acre. 

Cotton, corn, oats, potatoes, sorghum, wheat, tobacco, are 
the principal crops raised, and their average yield per acre is, 
on hill lands, 700 pounds ; and on bottom lands, 1,400 pounds 
of seed cotton to the acre; corn, 35 to 50 bushels; wheat, from 
10 to 12 bushels; Irish and sweet potatoes, from 200 to 300 
bushels ; sorghum, 100 gallons per acre. 

The cultivated varieties of grass do as fine here as in any 
country. Timothy will yield one-half ton ; redtop, 1 ton ; 
clover, 2 tons ; millet, 3 tons, and Hungarian grass, i ton, per 
acre. 

Of fruits, apples, pears, peaches, plums do best, but are 
cultivated only for domestic purposes. 

Very little attention is paid to live-stock raising. A few 
Jersey bulls and improved breeds of hogs and some good 
stallions have been introduced into the country, and they all do 
well — in fact the county is well adapted to this business. 

Of timber we have oak, gum, cypress, sassafras, ash, pine, 



(94) 

beech and hickory, and we have good water facUities for the 
marketing of lumber. 

The St. Louis, Iron .Mountain & Southern Railroad from 
Helena northward cuts the county nearly midway, and the 
L'Anguille and St. Francis rivers, both navigable, with their 
tributaries, Big Creek and Spring Creek, are within six miles 
of all parts of the county. 

Water for domestic purposes is obtained from wells and 
springs, and is both soft and hard. 

. We have 43 free schools, and one High School at Marianna, 
and about 75 churches of all denominations in the county. 

Our principal towns are Marinna, 1,500 population; La- 
Grange, 300 population ; Haynes, 300 population ; Spring 
Creek, 300 population; Moro, 250; Fhillips Bayou, lOO. 

LITTLE RIVER COUNTY. 

This county, formerly a portion of Sevier county, which is 
now separated from it on the north by Little river, from which 
stream it takes its name, is bounded on the west by the Choc- 
taw Nation of the Indian Territory, on the south by Red river, 
which separates it from the State of Texas, and on the east by 
Hempstead county, the line being here as in the case of Sevier, 
Little river to its junction with Red river. 

Its area is about 522 square miles, and its population in 
the neighborhood of 7,000, one-half of which are colored. 

The face of the country is gently rolling, a ridge of hilly 
elevations traversing the center from west to east, sloping 
towards the river bottoms, with considerable prairie lands along 
Red river in the south. 

The soil of the country is varied, black sandy loam in 
some locations is loose and very fertile, but having less of a clay 
foundation, is sometimes affected by drouth; the red lands, 
however, which make up the soil composition of other locations, 
contains more clayey matter and produces exceedingly well, 
especially in dry seasons; in the hilly uplands the soil is of a 
lighter character, but the productiveness is not much less than 
that of the bottoms. 

Cotton, corn, sorghum, oats, rye, some wheat, potatoes, are 
the chief crops, though nearly all farm and garden products 
will do well here. The yield of these lands is simply astonish- 
ing. They will yield from 40 to 60 bushels of corn, 20 bushels 
of wheat, and from 800 to 2,500 pounds of seed cotton to the 
acre. In fact we have heard it stated, and have seen the record 
of it with our own eyes, that a field of 250 acres planted with 
the Boyd variety of cotton yielded 325 bales of about 400 
pounds of lint cotton, each. 

Along the upland ridges the fruit culture would be a good 
investment, as all varieties do well here. 



(95) 

The timber of this section within the delta of this county 
is large and luxuriant. Hickory, pine, oak, pecan, maple, gum, 
sassafras and walnut can be found in the uplands, and some 
cypress in the bottoms. 

The prairie lands of the Red river bottom are among the 
finest lands in the world, and the luxuriant growth of the cane 
everywhere gives an abundant winter pasturage to stock. 

The stock-raising of this county has not as yet reached 
that stage of interest which the adaptation of this country for 
this business demands. There is here all that a cattle man, a 
sheep herder and a breeder of fine horses would delight in — 
abundant water supply all through the county, summer and 
winter pastures of the best kind, and a healthy, temperate 
climate. There are numerous salt licks all over the county, 
and cultivated grasses may be grown here so as to yield from 
one and one-half to two tons per acre. 

We have no railroad in the county so far, and the rivers 
are only partly navigable, so transportation for our abundant 
resources cannot be had except by wagons. 

In the neighborhood of Rocky Comfort, in the western 
portion of the State, is a bed of marl and marly limestone 
about 90 feet in thickness, and a number of old salt w^ells, 
under proper management could be made to yield good profits. 

We have good common school-houses and a number of 
churches in all settlements. The county seat is Richmond, with 
a population of 250. 

The United States owns 47,040 acres, which may be en- 
tered as homesteads. The State owns little land, but the Iron 
Mountain Railway Company has 16,450 acres in this county. 

LOGAN COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY H. G. SADLER ESQ.) 

This county, embraced in the coal region of the State, is 
one of the western counties situated south of the Arkansas 
river, which forms its northernmost boundary. It has an area 
of 650 square miles, and is joined on the west by the counties 
Franklin, Sebastian and Scott; on the south by Scott and Yell, 
the latter county joining also its eastern boundary. 

Its population is about 20,000, of which nearly 1,000 are 
of the colored race. 

The face of the country exhibits a shelving off in a north- 
eastern direction, is mountainous in the southwest, hilly in the 
center, and level and alluvial toward the Arkansas river and its 
tributaries in the county. One-tenth of -the entire area being- 
mountainous, four-tenths rolling, in hills and ridges, three-tenths 
level, and two-tenths alluvial. There is, however, but little 
prairie. 

About 175,000 acres of all the lands are open and improved, 



(96) 

and while there are some United States lands to the amount of 

acres, and State lands about acres, the 

Little Rock & Fort Smith Railway owns about 90,000 acres 
within the county. Prices of improved lands range from ^3 to 
;^50, and of unimproved lands from 5i-25 to ^30 per acre. The 
soil in the bottoms is in some portions black wax, and in others 
sandy loam ; in the uplands, sandy loam with a clayey forma- 
tion, and in the mountains gravelly, but well adapted to the 
cultivation of wheat and fruit. 

A variety of crops are grown and yield handsome incomes 
to the farmer. Of these, cotton, corn, wheat, oats, rye, sor- 
ghum, potatoes, tobacco and grasses are the principal products. 
Cotton yields, according to location in hill or bottom lands, 
form 750 to 1,500 pounds of seed cotton to the acre; the ave- 
rage yield of corn per acre is from 20 to 40 bushels ; of wheat, 
from 12 to 18 bushels ; of tobacco, from 800 to 1,200 pounds; 
of oats, from 36 to 60 bushels ; of rye, from 8 to 15 bushels ; of 
Irish potatoes, from 100 to 250 bushels; sweet potatoes, from 
100 to 250 bushels ; turnips, 200 bushels; sorghum, from lOO 
to 230 gallons, and field peas from 20 to 50 bushels. 

Cultivated grasses do remarkably well. Timothy produces 
2 tons; redtop, 2 tons; clover, 3 tons; millet, 3 tons; Hun- 
garian grass, 3 tons per acre ; milo maize and alfalfa are not 
grown as yet, but would no doubt do well here. 

All varieties of fruits peculiar to this latitude are grown 
here successfully. Apples, peaches, pears, plums and all 
varieties of small fruit do well here. Grapes are unusually 
prolific, among which the Concord, Catawba, Cynthanum, Herb- 
Almont, Elvira, Martha, Herman, Kenton and Rogers are the 
favorite varieties, and good wine is produced from all these. 

Stock does well in this county, but little attention, if any, 
has been given to the raising of stock, and only recently supe- 
rior breeds of cattle and hogs have been introduced. 

The timber resources of the county are excellent. There 
are laige areas of pine, large quantities of white oak in the 
mountains, and walnut, ash, mulberry, pecan, gum, cotton- 
wood, as well as the different varieties of oak, are found here ; 
but with the exception of the Arkansas river there are no facil- 
ities other than wagons to market lumber. With no railroads, 
and of navigable streams only the Arkansas river and the Petit 
Jean in the southern portion of the county, the resources of the 
county, though large, remain undeveloped. Of other streams 
are Six-Mile, Washburn, Shoal, Short Mountain and Sugar 
creeks. 

Minerals, such as coal, iron, lead and silver exist. Coal is 
found in large quantities, underlying thousands of acres of 
land. The facilities for working and mining minerals are good, 
wood and water being abundant, and with the prospect of a 



(97) 

railroad to intersect the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad at 
Coal Hill, it is only a question of time that these resources will 
reach a ready market. 

Corn and flouring-mills, as well as saw-mills and gins, are 
found all over the county. Besides these we have planing 
machines, wagon and furniture shops. 

There are about one hundred public schools in the county, 
which are open for pupils from three to ten months in the year. 

The watering privileges of the county are excellent for 
man and beast. All the streams mentioned are running the 
year round, and besides these are spring branches, springs and 
wells, with good and soft water, and alsv^ some mineral springs 
of chalybeate, sulphur and iron properties. 

Additional educational advantages are had in high schools 
at Booneville, Magazine and Ellsworth. The county is dotted 
with church-houses in every neighborhood, and the Baptist, 
Methodist, Presbyterian, Christian and Catholic denominations 
are represented. 

Of towns, we have Paris, with 800 inhabitants; Booneville, 
500; Magazine, 500; Roseville, 300; National Springs, 400; 
Chismville, 300 ; Caulksville, 200 ; Ellsworth, 200 ; Prairie View, 
300; Morrison's Bluff, 250, and Dublin with 150 inhabitants. 

The health of the county is good anywhere. 

LONOKE COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY WILLIAM GOODMAN.) 

Is centrally located, and bounded by Pulaski and Faulkner 
counties on the w'est, White county on the north, Prairie and 
Arkansas counties on the east and Jefferson county on the 
south. 

Lonoke county has an area of about 750 square miles, 
with a population of 13,000 to 15,000 inhabitants, fully one- 
third of which are negroes. 

The face of the county is generally level, with about one- 
tenth prairie. 

Nearly 25,000 acres are improved and fenced in. Only 
about 880 acres are United States lands, subject to entry for 
homesteads; about 50,000 acres belong to the State; 3,000 
acres to the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, and 3,300 acres 
to the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad. 

The general crops of the county are corn, cotton, wheat, 
oats, potatoes, peas. In the southern and southwestern portion 
of the county, where many engage in dairy pursuits, the culti- 
vated grasseg are grown successfully. In the northern part, 
where the transportation facilities of the St. Louis, Iron Moun- 
tain & Southern Railroad gives ready and speedy access to 
profitable markets, fruit crops receive special attention. 

The character of the soil in the bottoms is black loam, 

7 



. (98) 

in the uplands, sandy loam, and the prices for improved land 
are from 55 to ^25, and for unimproved lands from ^i to $5. 

The average yield of cotton per acre is on hill lands, 700 
pounds of seed cotton; on bottoms, 1,300 pounds; for corn, 
from 15 to 40 bushels; for wheat, from 7 to 10 bushels; oats, 
20 bushels ; rye, 10 bushels ; Irish and sweet potatoes and 
turnips, 200 bushels ; sorghum, 100 gallons syrup, and field 
peas 25 bushels per acre. 

Timothy, redtop, clover, millet and Hungarian grasses yield 
from I to 2 tons per acre. 

Apples, peaches, plums, pears and all small fruit of the 
berry kinds do well here. 

This county is well adapted to stock-raising, but little or 
no attention has been paid in that direction. 

Of timber we have all kinds of southern oaks, some walnut, 
but very little pine and cypress. 

The St. L., I. M. & S. R. R. traverses the county for about 
12 miles of its northwestern corner. The M. & L. R. R. divides 
the county in half, running east and west for about 18 miles. 

We have no navigable streams, but the county is watered 
in some portions by constantly running streams, the principal 
ones of which are: Cypress bayou, being the northern boun- 
dary, and flowing easterly into White river, the Big Wattensaw 
river, another tributary of the same stream. Bayou Two Prairies, 
Bayou Meto, Rattlesnake bayou. Baker's bayou, and Little 
Bayou Meto, all flowing into the Arkansas river in a southerly 
direction. Water for domestic purposes, both soft and hard, is 
obtained from wells and springs. Of mineral springs we have 
only one. Iron Springs, of local reputation. 

There are about 60 common schools in the county, open 
from 3 to 9 months in the year, and one high school, at 
Lonoke. 

Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists and Christians all have 
churches in the county; about lOO church-houses. 

The principal towns are Lonoke, 1,200; Carlisle, 300; 
Cabot, 300 ; Austin, 230 ; Austin Station, 200. 

MADISON COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY J. H. BOHANNON, ESQ.) 

In the northwestern part of the State, and with its north- 
ern boundary only about fourteen miles south of the Missouri 
line, joining Carroll county on the north, bounded on the west 
by Benton and Washington counties, on the south by Craw- 
ford, Franklin and Johnson, and on the east by Newton coun- 
ties, contains 838 square miles of generally broken lands, about 
one-half of its area being mountainous and hilly. Of the other 



99 ) 

half, which is level, about one-third is prairie and two-thirds 
alluvial lands. 

The population of Madison county is now about 15,000, 
with about 100 of the negro race. 

One-half of the lands in the county are improved, one- 
fourth belongs to the United States, and one-tenth is owned by 
the State of Arkansas, while the Little Rock & Fort Smith 
Railroad own about 1,000 acres. 

Corn, wheat, rye, some cotton and tobacco, and all kinds 
of fruits peculiar to this latitude, as well as farm and garden 
vegetables are raised. 

Cotton yields from 600 to 800 pounds, corn from 40 to 60 
bushels, wheat from 10 to 25 bushels, tobacco from 1,000 to 
1,500 pounds, oats from 30 to 50 bushels, rye from 12 to 20 
bushels, Irish and sweet potatoes from 250 to 300 bushels, tur- 
nips 400 bushels, sorghum 300 gallons, and field peas 400 bush- 
els per acre ; and such of the cultivated grasses as have been 
tried do well, and yield: timothy, 2,000; red-top, 1,800; clover, 
2,500; millet, 5,000; and Hungarian, 2,500 pounds to the acre. 

Fruits of all varieties succeed well and yield abundantly. 

Stock-raising has been successfully carried on, the county 
being well adapted to its growth and development, and im- 
proved breeds have been introduced to a limited extent. 

The timber of the county represents all varieties of oak, 
of which the white oak is abundant. Pine belts exist in the 
northern limits, and the walnut, cherry, hickory, sycamore and 
gum is found in all woods. 

Transportation of lumber is by wagons, thirty miles to 
railroad, and so far there being no railroad in the county, but the 
Great Eastern & Pacific Road now in progress, and the com- 
pletion of which is promised during the coming year, will supply 
what wants we have so long felt in this direction. 

There are many streams, not navigable, which furnish 
abundant running water at all seasons, among them White 
river, Kings river, War Eagle, Richland, Lollars, Wharton, 
Brush and Baldwin creeks are the most prominent. 

For domestic purposes both springs and wells furnish good 
soft water. 

Of minerals, stone coal, lead, iron and specimens of silver 
have been found, but so far, very little has been done to develop 
these resources. 

There are a few mineral springs possessing curative prop- 
erties in the county, of which the Parks and chalybeate springs 
near Huntsville and sulphur springs are the more prominent, but 
we are unable to furnish any analysis of their waters. 

Educational and social advantages are good. The num- 
ber of free schools in the county is one hundred, keeping open 
about four months in the year, and at Huntsville we have an 



( lOO ) 

excellent high school. There are 156 church-houses, owned 
by the Baptist, Methodist, Cumberland Presbyterian, Christian 
and other denominations. 

The principal towns are Huntsville, with a population of 
800; Marble, with lOO; Wesley, 100; Clifty, 100; Kingston, 
200; Drake's Creek, 100; St. Paul, 100, and Hindsville with 
200 inhabitants. 

MISSISSIPPI COUNTY, 

(CONTRIBUTED BY HUGH R. McVEY.) 

Is, as its name indicates, contiguous to the Father of 
Waters. It is bounded on the north by the State of Missouri, 
and its northeastern corner is the most easterly point of the 
State; its whole eastern boundary is made by the Mississippi 
river ; its southern boundary by Crittenden, and its western 
limit by Poinsett and Craighead counties. Area, about 900 
square miles. Population, 10,000, of which one-third are of the 
negro race. 

The general face of the country is level, with no moun- 
tains, hills or prairie. The soil is alluvial, a black sandy loam. 
About one-fourth of the lands of the county is improved; a 
very small amount, not exceeding 10,000 acres, is government 
land, and very little belongs to the State. No lands are owned 
here by railroads. The prices of lands vary according to 
quality; improved from ;^20 to ^lOO; and unimproved from $5 
to $10 per acre. 

The principal and perhaps only important crops of the 
county are cotton and corn, which yield, cotton, 1,500 pounds, 
and corn, 40 bushels to the acre. Irish and sweet potatoes and 
turnips produce well, and yield from 250 to 300 bushels per 
acre. 

Cultivated grasses would no doubt do well, but are not 
grown, with the exception of timothy on some plantations, 
which yields upwards of 2 tons per acre. 

Fruit, except for domestic consumption, is not grown, but 
when cultivated yields abundantly. 

The county affords fine advantages for stock-raising, and 
breeds are gradually improving. 

The resources of timber are immense. Cypress, ash, oak, 
Cottonwood, walnut, hickory, pecan are the chief timber woods, 
and with the Mississippi river at our very door and numerous 
bayous and small rivers for floating roads to the Mississippi, 
lumber may be shipped with great facility. 

There are no railroads as yet, though several are proposed. 
Of streams, the Little River and Pemiscot bayou are navigable 
for light draft boats during high water. 

The water used for domestic purposes from wells is mostly 
hard. There are a few cisterns but no springs. 

With 40 public free schools, and one high school at 



(lOl) 

Osceola, with church-houses in every neighborhood, the edu- 
cational advantages of the county are ample. 

The county seat, Osceola, has a population of about 600, 
several churches and school-houses and a fine court-house, and 
the Masonic fraternity. Knights of Honor and other fraternities 
have lodges here. 

MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY G. D. GOODNER.) 

Is one of the western counties of the State, and lies in the 
valley of the Ouachita river and tributaries, and about thirty- 
five miles east of the western boundary of the State, is about 
equally divided by a mountain ridge, and has an area of 900 
square miles, with a population of about 6,000, 200 of which 
are colored. 

The general face of the country is much broken, 10 per 
cent, being mountainous, 50 per cent, hilly, 30 per cent, level, 
and 10 per cent, alluvial. Only about 10 per cent, of all the 
lands are improved; about 38,980 acres belong to the United 
States, and 5,000 acres to the State. 

The crops of the county are corn, cotton, wheat, oats, 
Irish and sweet potatoes, and other farm products. Cotton 
will yield from 600 to 1,000 pounds of seed cotton to the acre; 
corn, from 15 to 30 bushels; wheat, from 8 to 10 bushels; oats, 
from 20 to 35 bushels, while root crops are abundant and yield 
from 100 to 200 bushels per acre. 

Cultivated grasses are only grown by one or two individ- 
uals, but do well- everywhere. 

Fruit of all kinds will thrive well here when cultivated. 

Montgomery county is a good stock-raising country, but 
no attention has been paid to stock-raising. 

There are valuable timber tracts in the county. Pine, 
white oak, red oak, post oak, sweet gum, ash and hickory are 
abundant, but the facilities for the shipment of these are none, 
the county being 40 miles from the nearest railroad, and the 
Ouachita and Caddo rivers being not navigable in the county. 

There are metals and minerals in the mountains, and gold, 
silver, lead, copper have been found, but so far nothing has 
been developed, though the facilities for working mines are 
good, there being an abundance of water and timber. 

Lands can be bought improved at from ;^2.50 to ^$10, and 
unimproved land at from ;^i.25 to ;^5 per acre. The character 
of the soil in the bottoms is alluvial, and a rich black loam ; in 
the uplands a gray and red loam, and in the mountains more 
stones than soil. 

The county is well watered. The rivers and creeks run 
all the year. Water from wells and springs for domestic use is 
both soft and hard. Of mineral springs are many sulphur and 



( I02 ) 

iron springs, among which the Maddox's, Hutchinson's Sulphur 
Springs, the Ryder's Blood Springs and Mayberry Springs are 
the most prominent, but we know not sufficiently of them to 
give their analysis. 

School and educational advantages are good. There are 
thirty county free schools open for three months in the year, 
and the Buckville High School, a good private institution. 

Different denominations, such as the Baptists, Methodists, 
Christians and others are represented here, but church-houses 
are generally not worthy the name. 

The principal towns are Mount Ida, the county seat. Black 
Springs, Buckville, Cedar Glades and Oden, all small towns, 
and the population will not exceed lOO in any of them. 

MONROE COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY J. G. PREA, ESQ., OF CLARENDON.) 

With an area of 616 square miles, is situated in the White 
river valley, and traversed in its western limits by White and 
Cache rivers, navigable for steamboats throughout the greater 
portion of the year. 

The population of Monroe county is about 10,500, nearly 
equally divided between the white and colored races. 

The whole country, while level in its general features, is 
sufficiently undulating to afford excellent drainage, but its ele- 
vation is in no place greater than forty feet above the high- 
water level of White river. 

All of the land of this county is of alluvial formation, and 
the southwestern corner of it contains about fifteen square 
miles of Grand Prairie. 

While about one-eighth of the lands in the county are im- 
proved, there are about 30,000 acres of land which are owned 
by the State and subject to donation, and 4,000 acres, the prop- 
erty of the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad Company. 

The principal crops are cotton and corn ; of oats, wheat, 
sorghum and millet, which do well here, only small quantities 
are grown. 

The average yield of cotton produced by thorough culti- 
vation is about 1,500 pounds of seed cotton per acre ; corn pro- 
duces about 30 bushels; wheat, 15 bushels; oats 60 bushels 
per acre, while rye is chiefly sown for pasture. 

Of root crops, Irish potatoes yield from 200 to 250; sweet 
potatoes, from 250 to 300, and turnips 300 bushels to the acre. 

Sorghum, which is cultivated sparingly, yields about 200 
gallons of syrup, and field peas about 50 bushels per acre. 

All varieties of grasses cultivated for farm and dairy pur- 
poses succeed well, and of these, clover, timothy, orchard grass, 
millet and redtop are the favorites, and are extensively grown 
and yield an abundant return : Timothy, 3,000 pounds; redtop. 



( I03 ) 

2,ooo pounds; clover, 4,000 pounds; millet, 4,000 pounds; 
Hungarian, 3,000 pounds. Milo maize and alfalfa grasses have 
not been tried. 

Of small fruit, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries 
are fine and abundant ; of larger fruit, peaches, plums and 
apples succeed best, but all varieties of fruits with the exception 
clierries may be successfully cultivated, provided they be suit- 
able to this latitude. 

No great attention has so far been paid to the raising of 
stock, but this is as fine a stock country as can be found any- 
where, and with any attention stock thrives well. A few 
improved cattle which have been brought here, the Shorthorn 
and the Jersey, have done well. 

All varieties of timber peculiar to this latitude can be 
found here. The eastern portion of the county furnishes about 
100 square miles of pine; cypress is abundant in the river bot- 
toms ; all varieties of oak, except live oak, grow all over the 
county, of which the white oak attains great size and furnishes 
an abundant supply of wood for fencing and fuel. 

The facilities for marketing lumber are as good as they 
can be desired. No part of the county is at any great distance 
from either navigable stream or railroad. The Memphis & 
Little Rock Railroad traverses the northern part of the county 
from east to west, the Arkansas Midland Railroad, running in 
the same direction, intersects the central part, and the Texas & 
St. Louis Road entering the northeast corner and running 
southwest, the Batesville & Brinkley Road in the northern part 
of the county, and the Brinkley & Helena Road, now building 
from Brinkley in a southeastern direction, form an iron net- 
work for transportation and travel large and abundant. White 
river, forming part of the western boundary, is navigable for 
large steamboats at all seasons of the year; Cache river, 
emptying into White river at Clarendon, is navigable for small 
boats during the winter from its mouth to the northern boundary 
of the county. 

Of factories, the county has one cotton-seed oil mill, one 
car manufactory, and numerous saw-mills for the manufacture 
of lumber, shingles, etc. 

The educational advantages consist of thirt3'-eight school 
districts, with from one to four schools in each, as they are 
required. They are kept open on an average of four months 
in the year. 

Church organizations and buildings for religious worship 
arc in nearly all neighborhoods, and all. denominations except 
the Episcopal church are represented by them. 

The general character of the soil is a dark sandy loam, 
with a sub-stratum of impervious clay at a depth of from two to 
three feet. 



( 104 ) 

Improved lands are priced at from ^lo to ;^40, and unim- 
proved land at from 25 cents to ^$15 per acre. 

The county is well watered throughout by constantly run- 
ning streams of every magnitude, White river being the largest. 
The character of the water obtained from wells with an average 
depth of twenty-five feet for domestic purposes, is soft and 
wholesome. 

No cities of the first or second-class are within the county 
limits. Of incorporated towns and villages there are Claren- 
don, the county seat, with a population of 600 ; Brinkley, 600; 
Holly Grove, 200; Indian Bay, 160, and Cotton Plant, lOO. 

The cultivation of grapes is not practiced to any extent. 
Of such varieties, however, as have been grown, the scupper- 
nong seems to thrive best. 

NEVADA COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY GEO. W. TERRY.) 

Situated in the southwest corner of the State, in the Oua- 
chita River Valley, and bounded by Clark, Pike, Hempstead, 
Lafayette, Columbia and Ouachita counties; embraces about 
575 square miles of area, and 13,500 inhabitants, of which 
nearly 4,000 are colored people. 

The face of the county is generally level, with no moun- 
tains. About one-fifth might be considered hills, and there 
being about 40 or 50 square miles of prairie. One-fourth of 
all the lands in the county are improved ; 4,600 acres belong to 
the United States, and are subject to homestead entry, No 
considerable amount of land belongs to the State, and 40,800 
acres belong to the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Rail- 
road. 

Corn, cotton, oats, potatoes and peas are the principal 
crops grown. Cotton produces on the hill lands 400 pounds of 
seed cotton to the acre, and on bottom lands 1,200 pounds; 
corn yields from 15 to 40 bushels; oats, 15 to 30 bushels. No 
rye hdS been grown for grain, but our lands are good rye lands. 
Irish potatoes, loO bushels; sweet potatoes, 100 bushels; tur- 
nips, 50 bushels; field peas, 15 bushels per acre. Cultivated 
grasses would do well here, but are not' grown sufficiently to 
estimate their yield per acre. 

Fruits, such as apples, peaches, plums and almost all other 
varieties of fruits which have been cultivated in this latitude 
succeed in this county. 

The county is also well adapted to stock-raising, but no in- 
terest in that direction is manifested. 

Pine and oak grows in abundance, and along the streams 
large quantities of cypress are found. Facilities for transporta- 
tion are good to the northern and western portion of the 
county. The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad 



( I05 ) 

runs through the northwestern corner of the county for about 
twenty miles. There are no navigable streams in the county, 
but the Little Missouri river, Terrouse creek, Bodcaw creek, 
Big Caney and Little Caney creeks and a number of other 
creeks might serve at some seasons of the year as float roads 
to the Ouachita river. 

Minerals, such as coal and iron, have been found in the 
hilly portion of the county, but have never been developed. 

The prices of land are for improved from ;$2.50 to $20, and 
for unimproved from 50 cents to $10 pei acre, and the soil is 
good sandy and black loam. 

There are fifty free schools in the county, which are kept 
open about three months in the year, and also the Tom Allen 
high school, at Prescott, the county seat. 

The principal Christian denominations, Baptists, Metho- 
dists, Presbyterians and others are represented by church 
houses throughout the county and in every settlement. 

Prescott, the county seat, has a court-house 46x50 feet, 
and two stories high, and a population of about 1,500 or 2,000 
inhabitants. 

There are a few running streams throughout the county, 
but principally domestic and stock supplies are obtained from 
wells, some of which are artesian. All of the latter furnish 
hard water, but springs, streams, and some wells, however, soft 
water. 

There is one principal mineral spring, the Lackland Spring, 
heavily charged with sulph'>^r, which acts wonderfully upon the 
kidneys and has great curative properties, but it has never yet 
been analyzed. 

OUACHITA COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY S. W. MALLORY, CAMDEN.) 

Is situated in the Ouachita river valley, from which stream 
it takes its name. Its southern boundary is 24 miles north 
of the Louisiana line, and separated from that State only by 
Union county, which, together with Columbia county, forms its 
southern boundary; otherwise it is bounded by Nevada, Clark, 
Dallas and Calhoun counties. 

Of its 900 miles of area, nine-tenths is alluvial deposit, the 
face of the country presenting east of the Ouachita river a 
level, and west an undulating upland. 

One-third of all the area is improved, 8,880 acres of which 
is United States land and subject to homestead entry; 5,000 
acres belong to the State, 6,000 acres are owned by the M. O. 
& R. R. R. R. & C. F. R. R., and 3,850 acres by the St. L., I. 
M. & S. R. R. Cotton is the principal agricultural product, 
yet corn, wheat, turnips, potatoes, rye, sorghum and tobacco 
are produced here b\' all who see the folly of relying alone on 



(106) 

cotton as a means of exchange. With proper cultivation and a 
fair average season the ordinary soil of the county will produce 
a bale of cotton to the acre. The average crop of the county 
is 10,000 bales. 

Corn never fails to yield from 15 to 40 bushels per acre. 
Irish and sweet potatoes yield fine crops and produce from 200 
to 300 bushels per acre. 

Wheat is not planted to any extent, but will yield from ten 
to twelve bushels. 

Turnips and peas are fine crops. 

Rye, barley and millet can be grown and become paying 
crops. 

Sorghum cane never fails to pay, the syrup commanding 
a ready sale. 

Tobacco is not extensively planted, yet it pays the planter 
liberally for his toil, as the large factory now going on in Camden 
will testify. 

All kinds of fruits, such as apples, pears, figs, quinces do 
well. Peaches and grapes deserve especial mention, as nowhere 
in the State do they grow larger or more delicious. 

Strawberries of the finest quality grow luxuriantly. Dew- 
berries, whortleberries, blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries 
all do well here. 

Redtop, clover, timothy, orchard and blue grass all are 
cultivated and yield well. 

The burr grass of California, Texas blue grass, Bermuda^ 
Johnson's grass and Alfalfa are southern grasses of known 
value, which will give a rotation of green food almost the entire 
year, and therefore stock-raising could be made very profitable, 
for our short mild winters, fine grazing and abundant running 
streams afford fine privileges and advantages. Heretofore very 
little attention has been paid to this industry, but blooded stock 
is now being introduced, and of cattle the Holstein, Alderney, 
Durham and Jersey breeds ^succeed well. 

The supply of timber in the county is enormous. The 
hills and ridges are covered with fine pine forests. Walnut^ 
cherry, oak, beech, hickory, dogwood, maple and elm are found 
in abundance, and the bottoms are filled with gum, white and 
black tupelo, cypress, hackberry, sycamore, overcup and pin 
oak. 

The county has over twenty saw mills scattered over her 
territory. The largest of these is situated at Camden, on the 
Ouachita river, near the steamboat landing and the depot of 
the Texas & St. Louis Railway. 

The Ouachita river and two railroads are at present our 
shipping facilities. The Texas & St. Louis Railway crosses the 
county from northeast to southwest, and the St. Louis, Iron 



( 10/ ) 

Mountain & Southern Railway from the northwest corner to 
the center. 

The Ouachita river runs through the county from north to 
south, nearly through the center. The Little Missouri river is 
on the northern boundary, both being navigable. In addition 
to these, the two Bayous, Mill creek, Gum creek, Smackover, 
Ecore Fabre, Freco, French creek. Cypress creek. Old river, 
Chappel, and eight or ten beautiful lakes are distributed over 
the country, and furnish fine fish and abundant water through- 
out the year. 

In the hills above Camden, near the river, are found exten- 
sive beds of lignite coal, these are now being developed by a 
New York company. Other coal beds crop out at Newport 
Landing, in the southern part of the county. 

Manufactures are scarce. We have a number of cotton- 
gins, grist mills, and shingle mills, but only one wool factory^ 
and one wood and wagon shop. 

Good improved lands can be bought at from ^5 to ^15 per 
acre; unimproved lands may be had at from ^i to ;^ 5. 00 per 
acre. 

The soil in the bottoms is a black stiff and black sandy 
loam; in the uplands red, grey and black sandy loam, and in 
the mountains similar to the latter. 

There are forty-five school districts, with sixty school- 
houses, kept open from four to ten months, one high school at 
Camden, and no community in the county is without its church- 
houses, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians and others being 
represented. 

Of principal towns we have Camden, with 2,000, and 
Stephens, with 130 inhabitants, 

PHILLIPS COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY GEN. JAMES C. T.\PPAN.) 

Situated in the eastern portion of the State on the Missis- 
sippi river, contains 659 square miles, two-fifths of which is 
alluvial level land — no prairie and very few hills. The popula- 
tion is about 24,262, of whom about 16,000 are colored. About 
one-sixth of the county is improved. The principal crops are 
cotton and corn, but hay, sorghum, peas, potatoes, millet and 
oats are cultivated. 

The yield of crops per acre of cotton, on hill lands, 600 
pounds; on bottom lands, 1,000 pounds; average crop of corn, 
uplands, 17 bushels; oats, 20 bushels; Irish potatoes, 100 
bushels; sweet potatoes, lOO bushels; turnips, 200 bushels; 
field peas, 50 bushels per acre. 

Of the cultivated grasses, timothy .yields 4,000 pounds; 



( 108) 

redtop, 4,000 pounds; clover, 6,000 pounds; millet, 6,000 
pounds; orchard grass, 4,000 pounds. 

Fruits of all kinds, apples, peaches, pears, plums, apricots, 
nectarines, quinces all do well, and of small fruit, strawberries 
do best. The Concord, Catawba, scuppernong and Isabella 
grapes are grown with satisfaction. 

A great deal of attention has been lately given to the rais- 
ing of stock, and improved breeds of cattle and horses have 
been introduced with success. Among the finer breeds of neat 
cattle are the Jerseys, Holstein and Hereford, of which the two 
former seem to do excellently here. Of horses, the Norman 
stud is being experimented with. 

Pine, cypress, gum, walnut, oak, cottonwood, poplar, beech, 
ash and hickory grow in abundance, and the sassafras, catalpa, 
elm, gum, holly, maple and sugar-tree are found everywhere. 

Two railroads and the Mississippi river furnish ample 
means of bringing these woods to a market. The Arkansas 
Midland Railroad, from Helena to Clarendon, and the Iron 
Mountain Railroad, from Helena to St. Louis, traverse the 
county, and several creeks, though not navigable, enter into the 
Mississippi river, the eastern boundary of the county. 

A few manufacturing enterprises, one for the pressing of 
cotton seed oil, one for the manufacture of spokes and felloes 
of carriages, wagons and agricultural implements, have been 
established within the county and do a good business. 

There are improved and unimproved- lands, which may be 
bought, the improved at from $10 to 20, and the unimproved at 
from $1 to ;^5 per acre. The general character of the soil in 
the bottoms is of a rich, alluvial nature, and in the hills a clay 
soil. The county is well watered by natural springs and run- 
ning creeks. For domestic use, both spring water and cistern 
water is used. 

There are about thirty free schools in the county, which 
are kept open on an average during eight months of the year. 
Of high schools there is one for colored people at Southland, 
an academy for girls of the Catholic church, and a few other 
private schools of a high character. 

Church-houses for white and colored people are distributed 
throughout the county, and can be found in every settlement. 
Namely, in the principal places, are two Episcopal, one Cath- 
olic, two Presbyterian, five Methodist and two Baptist churches 
for white people, and about thirty for the colored race. 

The principal towns are Helena, on the Mississippi river, 
with a population of about 5,000, Marvell 250, Trenton 250, 
Poplar Grove 700, Barton 50. 



( 109) 
POINSETT COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY HON. BEN HARRIS) 

Is located in the northeastern portion of the State, and 
bounded on the north by Craighead, west by Jackson, south by 
Cross and Crittenden, and east by Mississippi counties; has an 
area of 756 square miles, one-fourth of which is in hills, half 
level, and one-fourth prairie. 

The State owns about 10,000 acres in the county, and 
about one-third of its area is improved, and the United States 
still own 80 acres. 

The principal crops are cotton, corn, oats and wheat, of 
which cotton produces in the uplands 900 pounds, in the bot- 
toms 1,500 pounds of seed cotton to the acre; corn, 35 bushels 
in the hills and 50 bushels in the bottom lands; wheat, upland 
15 bushels, bottom lands 20 bushels; oats, uplands 20 bushels, 
bottom lands 25 bushels; rye, 35 bushels in the hills, 40 bushels 
in the bottoms; Irish potatoes, lOO bushels; sweet potatoes, 
175 bushels; turnips, 75 bushels, and field peas, 40 bushels per 
acre; sorghum yields about 300 gallons of syrup to the acre. 

The cultivated grasses succeed very well here. German 
millet, clover, timothy, Hungarian and blue grass yield as fol- 
lows: Timothy 5,000 pounds, redtop 5,000 pounds, clover 8,.ooo 
pounds, millet 4,000 pounds, Hungarian 3,000 pounds. 

Fruit, such as apples, peaches, pears, plums, grapes and 
quinces are grown and do well. Of grapes, the scuppernong 
is thriving. 

The county is especially adapted to cattle, and in fact, thriv- 
ing to all kinds of stock-raising, and some attention is given in 
this direction and to the improvement of stock ; of cattle, Dur- 
ham ; of horses the Clydesdale and Norman, and of hogs, the 
Poland do well. 

The timber of the county consists of poplar, which is dis- 
tributed over about one third of the area; white oak, red oak 
and hickory grow abundantly, and good cypress brakes are in 
some localities. 

Three railroads in the county, and the L'Anguille and St. 
Francis rivers afford good opportunities for the shipment of 
lumber. The Texas & St. Louis Railroad runs through the 
entire western part of the county, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain 
& Southern Railroad traverses the center, and the Kansas City, 
Springfield & Memphis Railroad passes through the eastern 
portion. The L'Anguille river, flowing in a southerly direction 
through the central portion of the county, is navigable for ten 

miles ; the St. Francis river, watering the eastern portion, is 
navigable in its whole length. 

Of minerals, nothing has as yet been developed. 

The number of public schools in the county is sixteen. 



(no) 

which are kept open for about six months in the year, which 
afford ample opportunity for the education of the population, 
about 5,000, of which about one-tenth are colored. 

The prices of land in the county range from $5 to ^15 for 
improved and from ^1.50 to ^5 for unimproved lands. 

The character of the soil is good, and consists in the 
bottoms of black sand and in the uplands of red clay. 

The county is well watered by constantly running streams, 
with their tributaries, as well as by abundant springs, and in 
the northeastern part by lakes. Cistern water, as well as 
spring water, is principally used for domestic purposes. 

Of mineral waters, we have the Udiber Springs, recom- 
mended for dropsical affections and indigestion. 

There is a high school at flarrisburg, the county seat, and 
fourteen church-houses throughout the county, principally of 
the Methodist and Baptist denominations. 

The principal towns of Poinsett county are Harrisburg, 
with a population of 590; Bay Village, 250; Weiner, 75; 
Fisher, 65. 

POPE COUNTY. 

Is situated north of the Arkansas river, which is its southern 
boundary, while Johnson, Newton, Searcy, Van Buren and 
Conway counties are its other limits. 

This county has an area of about 500,000 acres of land, 
considerably broken, one-sixth of which is mountainous, one- 
sixth hills, one-third level and one-third alluvial ; of prairie 
there is comparatively none. 

Its population is now estimated at 18,000, of which about 
1,000 are negroes. 

Forty-five thousand acres of the area seem to be improved, 
and of other lands, 160,000 acres are owned by the United 
States, 10,000 by the State and 80,000 acres by the Little Rock 
& Fort Smith Railway Company. 

Xhe principal crops are corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, cot- 
ton, tobacco and vegetables. Cotton produces well; on hill 
lands 700, on bottoms 1,400 pounds of seed cotton to the acre; 
the average yield of corn is from 20 to 50 bushels, of wheat 
from 8 to 16, of oats from 18 to 30, of rye from 25 to 30 bush- 
els, potatoes, both Irish and sweet, from 200 to 300, turnips 
300, and field peas 40 bushels per acre; tobacco produces 
about 200 pounds, timothy 2,000 pounds, redtop 2,000 pounds, 
millet and Hungarian grasses 3,000 pounds to the acre, and 
sorghum yields about 100 gallons of syrup on average land. 

All varieties of fruit are successfully cultivated. Peaches 
are a sure crop ; apples do well, and grapes will produce any- 
where in the county. 

Hogs, of which we have the Berkshire, horses and cattle, 
arc thriving, but little attention is given to stock-raising. 



( III) 

This is a good timber county, and all the varieties of valu- 
able timber are grown. White oak, pine, cypress, over-cup, 
red, black and post-oak are found in large and paying quantities, 
and our facilities for shipment of lumber are as good as any in 
the State. 

The Little Rock & Fort Smith Railway runs east and west 
for 25 miles across the southern part of the county, and the 
Arkansas river is its southern boundary for 30 miles. There 
are other streams. Cabin creek, Illinois creek and Point Remove 
creek, which, however, are not navigable. 

Coal is found in the county, but is developed only for 
private use. 

Of manufactories, we have a few flouring and saw-mills, 
and one cotton factory, at Russellville. 

The features of the soil are black, sandy loam and buck- 
shot in the bottoms and sandy loam in the uplands. 

The prices of land are, for improved, from $6 to ^40, and 
for unimproved, from $2 to $8 per acre. 

The county is well watered ; in the winter and spring by 
creeks and branches, in the summer by wells and springs. 
Some streams never fail in an ample supply, and water for 
domestic purposes is drawn from wells and springs, and is 
generally soft. 

The educational facilities are as good as common schools 
afford, there being schools in all the districts, and which are 
kept open from three to ten months in the year. 

Of towns, we have Russellville with 1, 000, Atkins with 500, 
and Dover with 400 inhabitants. 

All denominations seem to be represented throughout the 
county. Methodists North and South, Presbyterians of the old 
school and Cumberland Presbyterians, Missionary and Hard- 
shell Baptists, Campbellites and Catholics, all have their houses 
of worship, amounting to about 80 churches. 

PRAIRIE COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY HON. JAMES E. GATEWOOD.) 

Prairie county is situated in eastern Arkansas, Its western 
border extends within thirty miles of Little Rock, the State 
capital. Is bounded on the north by White county, on the 
east by Woodruff and Monroe counties, on the south by Ark- 
ansas and Lonoke counties, and on the west by Lonoke county. 
It is almost a level plain, embracing within its limits very little 
uneven or broken lands, the lands being chiefly rich bottom 
lands, and what we term here timbered uplands and prairie, both 
of which are productive, and while not rough or broken, are 
well drained by small streams, which empty into larger streams, 
to find an outlet in White River. It contains 460,800 acres of 
land. There are 41,000 acres of State land subject to donation 



(112) 

and 45,000 acres of railroad land, of which 4,750 acres belong 
to the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company, 
and 440 acres still owned by the United States, and subject to 
homestead entry. 

The population of the county is 10,980. The soil is very 
productive, varying in color according to locality. On the 
ridge land it is dark gray, on the bayous or creeks of a brown 
hue from 18 to 24 inches in thickness and very mellow, in the 
river bottoms and on the surrounded hills, situated between 
Cache and White rivers, it is a black alluvial with a substratum 
of sand. 

Nearly all products which can be grown in this latitude 
can be successfully cultivated here. The principal crops of the 
county, however, are cotton, corn, wheat, oats, sugar-cane, 
potatoes and hay. In favorable seasons the yield of all these 
is fine. German millet, Hungarian, redtop, timothy, blue grass 
and red clover produce well; tobacco and rice do finely; table 
vegetables of all kinds yield abundantly. Fruits of all varieties 
may be grown with profit. Apples, peaches and pears bear 
abundantly, and plums seem to be better suited here in soil 
and climate than in almost any other part of the State. Grapes 
bear prolific. The Concord, Ives seedling, Hartford, Morton's 
Virginia, Delaware, Little Red and scuppernong are the favor- 
ite varieties. Mulberries, strawberries, whortleberries, black- 
berries, dewberries, hackberries, cherries, muscadines and wild 
grapes are found in all wooded parts of the county in great 
quantities. 

Uplands yield about 1,000 pounds of seed cotton per acre, 
and bottom lands about 1,500 pounds. The average yield of 
corn on uplands is 35 bushels and on bottom lands about 50 
bushels. Average yield of wheat on uplands 20 bushels, of 
oats from 50 to 75 bushels, Irish potatoes 150 bushels, sweet 
potatoes 100 bushels, per acre. Sorghum produces from 50 to 
75 gallons per acre, and field peas from 50 to 75 bushels per 
acre. 

The putting up of hay has become a considerable industry 
in this county. The hay is made on the prairies from prairie 
grass, is baled and shipped by the carload to distant markets, 
and while only a few years ago there were not more than three 
or four points where hay was put up, now are sheds, presses 
and side-tracks almost at every station of the Memphis & Little 
Rock Railroad. 

Fruit-raising also has received a great deal of attention of 
late years. Strawberries, tomatoes, early peas and earliest 
varieties of plums, peaches and apples are made remunerative 
in distant markets. 

The raising of cattle has, however, become one of the 
greatest industries of the county. Large bodies of prairie are 



( 113 ) 

being enclosed with wire-fencing, and are turned into stock 
ranches. Ah'eady there are several of these in the county, 
containing from 3,000 to 5. 000 licad of cattle, besides large 
numbers of mules, horses and sheep. Cattle are being con- 
stantly shipped to markets at Little Rock, Memphis and St. 
Louis. Cattle do well in this county, and stock-raising is con- 
sidered one of the most remunerative enterprises in the county. 
Our winters are short and mild, and stock need but very little 
attention or feed. There are about 150,000 acres of prairie 
land in the county, situated principally south of the Memphis 
& Little Rock Railroad, which are being rapidly bought up for 
grain farms and cattle ranches. 

Water for domestic uses is generally from wells, at a depth 
of from twenty-five to fifty feet. It is pure and healthy, except 
near the river and bayous. 

Our school facilities are good. We have public schools 
in almost every neighborhood of the county. At Des Arc, at 
DeValls Bluff, Hazen and Hickory Plains are very fine public 
schools. 

Labor is scarce. Good workers for farms can procure sit- 
uations at remunerative wages. 

Our timber consists of white, post, red, black, Spanish, live, 
over-cup and willow oaks, black-jack, hickor)' of various kinds, 
cypress, willow, black gum, walnut, dogwood, cherry, chinqua- 
pin, sycamore, cotton-wood, red bud, ash, tupelo gum, maple, 
box-elder, hackberry, sugar maple, red wood, elm, pecan, per- 
simmon, sassafras, etc., etc., all in good quantities. 

The streams of the county are White river, running through 
the eastern portion for forty miles. Bayou Des Arc, running 
east and west through the northern part, Bayou Wattensas. 
running east and west through the middle, and Lagrue and 
Bayou Two Prairie, running through the southern and south- 
eastern parts of the county, and Cache river on the eastern bor- 
der of the county. 

Des Arc, with a population of about 1, 000, is the county 
seat, DeValls Bluff has a population of 500; Hazen, 350; 
Fredonia, 200, and Hickory Plains 250. 

Improved lands can be purchased at from $5 to ;^io, and 
unimproved lands for from ;$ 1.50 to ^^5 per acre. Lands forfeited 
to the State can be purchased at 50 cents per acre, and railroad 
lands for from ;$2.50 to ^5. 

PULASKI COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY HON. SAMUEL W. WILLIAMS.) 

One of the most centrally located counties of the State, is 
diagonally traversed by the Arkansas river, which throughout 
the county maintains an average width of a quarter of a mile, 
and is of sufficient depth to bear large and commodious steam- 



( 114) 

boats. Pulaski county contains tlic ca[)ital of the State, and 
has a population of about 45,000. 

Tiie features of the county arc\hiily tu the extent of three- j 
fourths of its area, which is 781 square miles. Only about one- ! 
fourth of the county is alluvial, and there are no prairies in any 
part of it. About 25 per cent, of the lands of the county arc in 
cultivation; 26,300 acres belong to the United States, 5 p-r 
cent. to the State of Arkansas, and about ten per cent, of the 
lands belong to the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern, the 
Little Rock & Fort Smith, and the Memphis & Little Rock 
Railroads. 

Corn and cotton are the principal crops grown in the 
■county, and all other ordinary farm and garden products are 
cultivated to the profit of the farmer and market gardener. 

The yield of the various crops per acre is, of cotton, on the 
hill lands, Soo pounds; on the bottom lands, l,6oo pounds 
seed cotton; corn, 20 bushels on uplands, 40 bushels on bottom 
lands; wheat, about lO bushels; oats, 40 bushels. Tobacco is 
not planted in sufficient quantities to give the yield per acre, 
but gives a good return to all who grow it. Root crops bring a 
good harvest. Irish potatoes, lOO bushels; sweet poteitoes, 200 
bushels, and turnips, 300 bushels; which latter, however, may be 
increased to 500 bushels, when cultivated in good bottom land. 
Cultivated grasses, such as millet, clover, timothy and 
-orchard grasses do well and produce abundantly. Timothy, 
3,000 pounds; red top, 2,000 ; clover, 3,000; millet, 4,000 ; Hun- 
garian, 4,000 pounds per acre. Those who have cultivated 
milo maize and alfalfa speak well of their yield. 

Pulaski county is the home of the peach and the pear va- 
rieties, and surpass New Jersey in the former and California in 
the latter. Good apples may be produced here, but not as 
_good as in the northwestern counties of the State. It beats the ■ 
world for blackberries and whortleberries, produces good straw- . 
berries, grapes, raspberries, plums, and all fruits, but cherries. 
Of tlie g:-ape all varieties are cultivated, but the Ives seedling 
.and Concord do best. 

There is not much attention paid to the raising of stock. 
The Jersey and Ayrshire cattle, however, seem to thrive best, 
while the Durham breed is affected by our hot June and cool 
fall nights, but when sheltered at night and fed in sheltered 
pastures, shaded by trees, they do well. The Berkshire hogs 
succeed best, the Poland swine next ; dark or colored varieties do 
well. White hogs, however, take the mange, and do not thrive. 
About half the county — that part south of the river — grows 
hard pine, and white oak grows on the creeks and on both sides 
of the Arkansas river. The cypress is pretty well used up, but 
some can be found in brakes upon narrow slips of wet land, on 
.the banks of lakes and sluggish bayous in the alluvial parts of 



(115) 

the county. Here also can be found the hickory, ash and red 
gum trees in abundance. 

The market facihties of the county are good to Little 
Rock, thence by water or rail to New Orleans, St. Louis, Mem- 
phis, Kansas and Texas, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & South- 
ern, the Memphis & Little Rock, the Little Rock & Fort Smith, 
the Little Rock, Mississippi River & Texas Railroads all run- 
ning to or by Little Rock, the county seat and State capital. 
Of navigable streams passing through the county we have only 
the Arkansas river; other streams, are its tributaries, the Bayou 
Meto, Palarm, Big Maumelle and Little Maumelle, Fourche, 
White Oak bayou and Lawson*s creek. 

Silver and lead mines have been worked. Coal and iron is 
found, but has not been worked, and limestone and slate quarries 
may be worked with profit, but have not been yet developed. 

Pulaski county has a variety of manufacturing enterprises, 
such as lumber factories, sash, blind and flooring mills, furni- 
ture factories, wagon and carriage factories, foundries, cotton- 
seed oil mills, cooperages, woolen and cotton spinneries, flour 
mills and cracker bakeries, which have been and are now carried 
on profitably. 

There are within the county, and in operation for from 
three to nine months in the year, forty-three good schools, in as 
many school districts. Within the city of Little Rock, and in 
addition to the county schools, are eight large schools, which 
are kept open nine months in the year, and afford good oppor- 
tunity for education. 

The price of improved land, according to location, is from 
^lo to ;$ioo per acre, and that of unimproved land from $l to 
to $20. This, of course, does not refer to land near Little Rock, 
where there are improved localities worth as much as in any 
other large city. The character of the soil is, in the alluvial 
parts, a sandy loam, in the uplands much varied, mostly, how- 
ever, a clay subsoil covered with a gi'avelly loamy surface. 
The hilly lands class as uplands ; near the small streams there 
are alluvial deposits. The county is well watered by constant 
running streams, and in the hilly portion there are many clear 
springs, pure and healthy. For domestic use both springs and 
wells furnish water, which is principally soft. There are both 
chalybeate and sulphur springs in the county, but no health 
resort has been established. 

Pulaski county is especially favored with educational ad- 
vantages. Four of the eight free schools are high schools. Of 
private schools are St. John's college, now suspended; a Meth- 
odist university; the Philander Smith college for the colored 
people; Professor Conrad's high school; Mrs. Warner's high 
school for girls ; the Convent high school ; Professor Bale's 
commercial college and school for telegraphy and shorthand ; 



(ii6) 

the medical college and a law school; and the two State insti- 
tutions for the education of the blind and deaf and dumb. 
There are fourteen churches in Little Rock belonging to colored 
denominations. The white people have two Presbyterian 
churches of the old school and one Cumberland Presbyterian 
church ; one northern and three southern Methodist churches ; 
one Catholic cathedral and one of the German Catholics; one 
Lutheran church; two Episcopal churches; two Baptist churches; 
one Congregational and two Campbellite churches. There 
are also church buildings belonging to different denominations. 
The population of the county which, according to the last 
census in 188.0, was 32,653, is now about 45,000, of which about 
15,000 are colored. The principal cities are Little Rock, the 
capital of the State and county seat, with a population of about 
26,000; Argenta, 1,000; Jacksonville, 200; Mabelville, lOO; 
Wrightsville, 500, and Sweet Home, 100. 

RANDOLPH COUNTY. 

Is in the northeastern quarter of the State, joining the 
Missouri line on the north, on the east Clay county and Greene 
county, on the south Lawrence and on the west Sharpe county. 
Randolph county embraces 700 square miles of fine agricultural 
lands. The western portion of the county is generally hilly and 
broken, the eastern portion mostly level, the soil in the latter 
portion being nearly all alluvial, with an admixture of sand, 
rendering them easy for cultivation. The hills and uplands are 
well suited for the cultivation of fruit, and for stock raising, 
which has so far engaged but very little attention, this county 
is well and favorably adapted, and affords fine facilities, owing 
to the number of springs and creeks of good wholesome water, 
and the abundant pasturage at all times available. Stock 
keeps fat all through the year, and hogs, finding an abundance 
of mast in the woods, require no feeding and are fattened with 
but little cost. 

About one-fifth of the county is improved; 49,120 acres 
belong to the United States and may be entered under the 
homestead act, or bought outright at ^1.25 per acre; 16,000 
acres belong to the State and can be donated, and about 19,400 
acres are owned by the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 
Railway Company, and are for sale on their easy terms. In 
fact, improved land may be bought for from $2 to ^50 per acre, 
and unimproved lands for from $2 to ^$6.50 per acre. In the 
bottoms the soil is a deep black sandy loam, loose and friable ; 
in the hills, black loam with a clay foundation. The lands produce 
well anything that may be grown in this latitude and climate. 

Cotton has so far been the principal staple, but corn, 
wheat, oats, rye, Irish and sweet potatoes, turnips, sorghum and 
peas are grown with success and abundant return by all those 



(117) 

farmers who have diverged from the old beaten track and have 
thrown aside the destructive theory of one crop cultivation. 
Cotton produces" on uplands 500 pounds ot seed cotton, on 
bottoms 1,200 pounds per acre, the average yield of corn on 
hills is 30, on bottoms 75 bushels per acre, wheat produces 7 
to 15 bushels, tobacco 1,000 pounds, oats 20 bushels, rye 20 
bushels, Irish and sweet potatoes lOO to 200 bushels, turnips 
300 bushels, sorghum from ']6 to lOO gallons of syrup, and field 
peas 25 bushels per acre. The cultivated varieties of grasses 
succeed well. Clover, timothy, redtop, millet and Hungarian 
grass yield from i to 2 tons per acre. 

For v/ant of transportation but little attention has been 
given to fruit as a market crop, yet there is no better fruit land 
and climate in the world. All the varieties of apples, peaches, 
pears, quinces, plums, cherries, grapes, strawberries, raspber- 
ries, gooseberries, blackberries and dewberries succeed well 
here. The principal growth of timber in the uplands consists 
of oak, hickory and ash; gum, cypress and tupelo abound in 
the bottoms, and there are in the county five rivers navigable 
for logs. 

The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, and 
the Kansas City, Springfield & Memphis Railway touch the 
county, and Black river. Current, Fourche, Eleven Points and 
Spring rivers abound in many excellent fish. In the western 
part of the county are found lead, zinc, iron, manganese, but 
these are as yet undeveloped. The population of the county 
is about 11,725, of which about 600 are colored people; school- 
houses, 56, kept open from three to ten months; postoffices, 15; 
804 farms, with about 31,578 acres of improved land. 

We have some excellent mineral springs. Ravenden and 
Warm Springs, which have been developed, and are specifics 
for general debility, dyspepsia, dropsy, ulcers, kidney affections, 
scrofula, sore eyes, and numerous other diseases. 

There are forty church-houses of Baptist, Methodist, 
Catholics and Campbellites. Our towns are : Pocahontas, pop- 
ulation, 500; Ravenden, population, 200; Warm Spiings, pop- 
ulation, 200; Walnut Hill, 1 50; O'Kean, lOO. 

SALINE COUNTY. 

(DESCRIPTION FURNISHED BY J . T. SHOEMAKER, ESQ.) 

Saline county, centrally located, is bounded on the north 
by Perry and Pulaski counties, on the east by Pulaski county 
and the Arkansas river, on the south by Jefferson, Grant and 
Hot Spring counties, and on the southwest and west by Gar- 
land and Perry counties, embracing within its limits 489,422 
acres of territory, the western portion of which is mountainous 
and hilly, the eastern and southern level, about equally divided 



(ii8) 

hilly and level. The creek and bottom lands are good, rich 
soil, and some of the level land is alluvial. No prairie. 

About one-fourth of the lands are improved, five per cent. 
62,920 acres are owned by the United States, and subject to 
homestead entry, and about 3 per cent, belong to the State, 
and 91,200 acres are owned by the St.. Louis, Iron Mountain 
& Southern Railroad Co. 

The prices of land vary according" to location. For im- 
proved from ;^5 to ;^30, unimproved from $1 to ^5. The soil in 
the bottoms is black loam, in the uplands grey and black sands, 
and in the mountains, rocky. 

Corn, cotton, wheat, oats, rye, sweet and Irish potatoes, 
turnips and all other farm and garden products suitable to this 
latitude can be grown here successfully and yield good results. 

Cotton produces on uplands 600 pounds, on bottom lands, 
800 pounds ; corn yields from 15 to 30 bushels ; wheat, from 10 
to 12 bushels ; tobacco, from 700 to 800 pounds ; oats, from 15 
to 18 bushels; Irish potatoes, 100 bushels ; sweet potatoes, 200 
bushels; turnips, 100 bushels; sorghum, 80 gallons of syrup; 
field peas, 60 bushels per acre. Redtop, orchard, timothy, 
millet and herds grasses and clover are grown, and yield from 
4,000 to 5,000 pounds per acre. 

Fruits do well in this county. Peaches, apples, pears, 
grapes and strawberries are raised for home consumption and 
the market. Of the Concord and Delaware grape the yield is 
good and abundant. 

Not much attention has been given so far to the raising of 
stock, but horses, mules, cattle and sheep all do well here. 

All uplands are well timbered with pine. An abundance 
of white oak in the bottom lands and very little cypress. The 
facilities for marketing lumber are generally good. The St. 
Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad and the Mississippi 
River^ & Texas Railroad furnishing transportation, and the 
Saline river with all its forks and tributaries in seasons of high 
water are excellent float-roads to the Arkansas, though other- 
wise they are not navigable. 

Gold, silver, iron, zinc and lead have been found, but not 
developed to any extent. 

Of manufactories, we have only saw-mills and several 
stoneware factories in paying condition. 

We have 60 common schools, kept open about five months 
in the year. 

The population of Saline county is about 12,000, of which 
about 1,500 are negroes. 

Of churches, belonging to the Methodists, Baptists, Cum- 
berland Presbyterians and German. 

Important towns are Benton, with a population of 800, 
Bryant, with 50, and Woodson, with lOO inhabitants. 



(119) 

Water for domestic purposes is obtained from springs and 
wells, and is generally soft. 

SEARCY COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY G. B. GREENHAW, ESQ ) 

Is situated in the White river valley, about thirty miles 
south of the Missouri line, and bounded by Baxter, Marion, 
Boone, Newton, Pope, Van Buren, Cleburne and Stone coun- 
ties, has an area of 6oo square miles of land, considerable 
broken, there being nearly one-fourth mountains, one-fourth 
hilly and two-fourths level land in the county. One-half of 

the lands of the county are United State lands, acres^ 

which are open to homesteads, and about one-fourth are im- 
proved. 

Corn, cotton, wheat, oats, rye and barley are among the 
principal crops raised, and their average yield is, for cotton on 
hill lands 600 pounds of seed cotton, on bottom lands I.OOQ 
pounds per acre ; for corn, from 20 to 30 bushels; for wheat, 
from 8 to I 5 bushels; tobacco, 600 to 1,000 pounds; oats, 2a 
bushels on uplands and 50 on bottom lands; rye, from 8 to 15 
bushels; Irish potatoes, 200 bushels; sweet potatoes, lOO 
bushels; turnips, 200 bushels; field peas, 30 bushels, and 
sorghum 100 gallons of syrup to the acre. The cultivated 
varieties of grasses succeed well, and timothy, redtop, clover 
and millet yield from 2,000 to 3,000, and even 4,000 pounds 
per acre. 

Apples, peaches, pears, grapes, and in fact all other fruits, 
can be raised successfully. Apples do, however, best of all. 

No attention has as yet been given to stock-raising, though 
the county is well adapted to this business in many ways. 

There are about six square miles of pine lands in the 
county, and cedar, white oak and all other mdigenous trees, 
except cypress, can be found in abundance. The facilities for 
marketing these resources are, however, none. We have no 
railroads and navigable streams. 

The country is well and abundantly watered by clear and 
constantly running streams, such as the Buffalo fork of White 
river, which intersects the northwest corner of the county, Rich- 
land, Calf and Bear Creeks, which flow from south to north into 
Buffalo Fork, Red river and Big creek, in the southern part of 
the county. For domestic purposes, springs and wells furnish- 
soft water. There are a few mineral springs, to which people 
resort for the sake of health, claiming to be benefitted by their 
use in dropsical and other affections. 

Gold, silver, copper, lead and fine marbles of various kinds 
have been lately discovered, but so far have not been de- 
veloped. 

The population is about iO,000, with but 16 or 17 negroes. 



(I20) 

We have 6o free schools, kept open from 3 to 6 months in 
the year, but we have no high schools in the county. 

Churches are found in all settlements, and belonging to 
nearly all Christian denominations. 

Of towns, there are only two of importance, Marshall, the 
county seat, with a population of 150 inhabitants, and St. Joe, 
with 50 inhabitants. 

The general character of the soil is, in the bottom, black 
and sandy or stiff loam, in the uplands, light sandy loam, and 
on the sides of mountains, black rich soil. The prices for im- 
proved lands are from $10 to ^20, for unimproved lands, from 
$2 to ^5 per acre. 

SEBASTIAN COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY H. I. FALCONER, ESQ.) 

This county is located on the western boundary of the 
State, its northern boundary is formed by the windings of the 
Arkansas river, in the south it is bounded by Scott county, and 
in the east by portions of Scott, Logan and Franklin counties, 
embracing an area of 364,800 acres and containing a popula- 
tion of 30,000, about 2,000 of which are colored people. The 
general face of the country is varied in its character. There 
are mountains in the southwest, prairie in the southeast, hills, 
ridges and bottoms in the center and level alluvial belts in the 
north along the Arkansas river, so that there is about one- 
twentieth of the county mountainous, thirteen-twentieths rolling, 
three-twentieths level, one-twentieth alluvial and two-twentieths 
prairie, about one-tenth of all the lands being improved. 

About 15,000 acres of the lands belong to the United 
States, and about 3,000 acres to the Little Rock & Fort Smith 
Railway Company. The soil in the bottoms is of a deep black 
loam, in the uplands of a gray and sandy character, and in the 
mountains much varied in value and composition. The crops 
principally grown in the county are cotton, corn, wheat, oats, 
r>e, ixiillet, potatoes and all the garden products. Cotton pro- 
duces well — on the hill lands from 500 to 800, in the bottoms 
from 800 to 1,600 pounds of seed cotton; corn, on uplands, 
from 25 to 35, on bottoms from 50 to 75 bushels per acre. The 
average yield of wheat is, on uplands, 12 1-2, on bottom lands 
20 bushels ; that of oats, 25 bushels on uplands and 50 bushels 
on bottom lands, and rye yields from 15 to 20 bushels per acre. 
All root crops yield abundant returns, and cultivated grasses 
of every kind do well. Timothy, redtop, clover and millet 
yield from 2,000 to 4.000 pounds to the acre. Fruits are pay- 
ing well. Apples, peaches, pears, even cherries, plums and 
berries of all kinds yield a good harvest and produce luscious 
specimens. Of grapes, the Catawba, Scuppernong and Con- 
cord do well. Considerable interest is now beins: manifested 



(121) 

and much money is invested profitably in stock-raising. Fine 
breeds of cattle, such as the Jersey and Durham, have been 
successfully introduced, but hogs of the finer breeds have not 
done well. 

The country is stwdded with valuable timber, and walnut, 
pine, oak, hickory, maple and ash are found in paying quanti- 
ties. Cypress, however, exists only in small brakes in the bot- 
toms. The shipping facilities by water are good and consider- 
able walnut lumber is thus exported, but the high freight rates of 
the railroads make the shipment of lumber by rail unprofitable. 

Of railroads, we have the Little Rock & Fort Smith and 
the St. Louis & San Francisco Roads ; of streams which are 
navigable, the Arkansas and Poteau rivers ; of other streams, 
the Vache Gras, Big creek and Muzzard creek. 

Coal is being developed to some extent all over the 
county, and farmers haul it into market as elsewhere wood, but 
owing to high freights and a want of other facilities the market 
is confined to the county. 

We have a few manufactories located at Fort Smith, of 
which there are three furniture and one ice factory, one foundry 
and one cotton compress and oil mill. 

Sixty-seven public free schools are distributed over the 
county, of which 5 are in Fort Smith. These are kept open in 
the country 5 and in the city 9 months in the year. There is 
also one high school, Buckner College, situated at Witcherville, 
in the county. 

All the country is abundantly watered by running streams 
and springs, and these latter, together with wells that are sunk, 
furnish good, wholesome and soft water for domestic purposes ; 
there are also several mineral springs, chalybeate and sulphur, 
in the county, but they have never been analyzed, and their vir- 
tues are not known. 

Fort Smith, the county seat, is located on the Arkansas 
river at the head of steamboat navigation, and adjoins the gov- 
ernment reserve, which is between it and the Indian Territory. 
It has a population of about 10,000, is the seat of one of the 
federal courts, and by privilege of government license has a 
large and lucrative trade with the adjoining Indian nations. 

SEVIER COUNTY. 

The area of the county is 597 square miles. It has a popu- 
lation of 9,000, 20 per cent of which are of the colored race. 

The county lies on the western boundary of the State, near 
the northwestern corner, and in the Red river valley. It is 
bounded on the west by the Indian Territory, on the south by 
Little river, on the east by Howard and on the north by Polk 
counties. The general face of the county is level, there being 
only about one-fifth in mountains and one-fifth in hills, but there 



( 122 ) 

is no prairie. One-twentieth of the lands are improved, 20,000 
acres belong to the United States, 40,000 to the State, and none 
to railroads. 

Cotton, corn, wheat, oats are the principal crops, but rye, 
barley, potatoes and sorghum are grown everywhere. 

Cotton produces 500 pounds on uplands, and 1,200 of seed 
cotton in bottoms. Corn yields from 15 to 30 bushels; wheat, 
5 to 10 bushels ; tobacco, from 500 to 1,000 pounds; oats, from 25 
to 40 bushels, and rye from 5 to 10 bushels per acre. Irish pota- 
toes, .sweet potatoes and turnips will average from lOO to 200 
bushels; field peas, 15 bushels, and sorghum, 100 gallons of 
syrup per acre. Bermuda, orchard and herd grass are the 
principal grasses grown, but other cultivated grasses will do 
well. Timotljy, redtop, clover and millet will produce from 
2,000 to 4,000 pounds, and others in proportion. 

Peaches, apples, plums and pears are grown, but not ex- 
tensively cultivated. 

Though the forests contain pine, white oak, cypress, of 
which pine occupies one-half of all the lands, the timber of 
the county is undeveloped, there being no facilities of transpor- 
tation except by Little River to a very distant market. There 
are no railroads as yet in the county. 

Lands can be bought, improved at from $2 to ^^loo, and 
unimproved from 50 cents to $5 per acre. The soil is generally 
of a loamy character, more or less mixed with sand. 

Manganese, lead and silver have been found, but not de- 
veloped. Streams and branches and springs are plentiful 
everywhere, and the water of wells and springs is soft. We 
have a few mineral springs of chalybeate and sulphur character, 
but only of local importance. 

There are 30 common schools open five months in the 
year, and high schools at Lockeburgh, Brownstown and Nor- 
woodville. 

We have of towns, Lockeburgh, with 300 ; Brownstown, 
with 50; Benlomond, with 50, and Norwoodville, with 100 
population, and churches are found in every settlement. 

SCOTT COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY J. C. GIl.BREATH, ESQ. 

Became a county in December, 1833. Its boundaries have 
been changed repeatedly till 1881, when its boundaries were fixed 
as they are at present. Bounded on the west by the Indian Ter- 
ritory, on the north by Sebastian and Logan counties, on the 
east by Yell and on the south by Mongomery and Polk 
counties. It has an area of about 1,000 square miles, is a typ- 
ical Arkansas county, and one in which are found all the ele- 
ments for a prosperous and progressive community. The fol- 



( 1-^3) 

lowing are statistical data from county and United States 
records : 

Area, acres, 700,000; assessed valuation, $1,125,000; aver- 
age value of assessed land per acre, ^4; acres of land belong- 
ing to the United States and subject to homstead law, 278,000 
acres; acres belonging to the State subject to donation, 12,000; 
school lands, i6th sections, acres, 12,000; individual lands, 
acres, 150,000; annual rent of land, 33 to $6 per acre. The 
present population is estimated at 17,000, of v/hich about 40 
are colored. There are 64 school districts in the county, in all 
of which are school-houses. 

The face of the county presents an undulating timber hills, 
valleys and table lands, the titles bemg unquestionable and 
prices for lands ranging according to quality from $2 per acre 
upwards. Homesteads can be had by paying the United States 
fees and complying with the homestead laws, or can be entered 
by purchase at the price ot ;^i.25 per acre, which is being done 
rapidly, and it is believed that Scott county has increased in 
population more than any other part of the State, owing to the 
superior opportunities of obtaining h.omesteads and cheap lands. 

The roads of the county run generally east and west, on 
account of the contour of the country. One of the main roads 
runs north and south, and is called the Line road, on account 
of its close proximity to the line of the Indian Territory, being 
the principal route for travel from the Arkansas river to Texas. 

Four streams and their tributaries cross the county, viz. : 
Petit Jean flows an easterly course close to its northern bound- 
ary, Dutchess creek traverses for twelve miles its eastern part, 
flowing northeast, and Poteau river, flowing thirty miles through 
the center of the county in a westerly direction, and the 
Fourche le Fave river, which rises in the extreme southwestern 
corner of the county, and flows for fifty miles through, on its 
way to the Arkansas river, being bordered by rich valleys, with 
as good and productive land as in this or any other State. 

The average elevation of the county is about 700 feet in 
the valleys, and the highest mountain point is about 2,000 feet 
above the sea level. 

Water is abundant lor all purposes, including manufactur- 
ing, and water can be had by sinking wells from 12 to 15 feet, 
and there are many noted mineral springs equal to any in this 
State except Hot Springs. 

The soil is generally a sandy loam, and will produce any- 
thing which is indigenous between the tropics and the Canada 
line. Corn, wheat, oats, rye and barley grow w ell here, and so 
do all kinds of grasses, and as for fruit and vegetables the world 
cannot beat it. Many large orchards and vineyards in the 
county give evidence of the productiveness of fruit in this 
county, and as the native grapes are almost as fine in size and 



(124) 

as delicious in flavor as cultivated grapes, it shows that the 
county is the natural home of the grape. As regards small 
fruit, and any kind of berries, it is only necessary to consider 
how much labor you will command to care for them, and they 
will return you ample interest. 

Cotton is the staple of this county, grows well and produces 
from three-quarters to one and a-half bales to the acre. 

Minerals in this county are abundant and diversified. Coal 
is found all over the western part of good quality, and in veins 
four to fifteen feet thick, and in many places m other parts of the 
county in paying quantities ; it is free of sulphur, iron and phos- 
phorous. It is different from the coal in Sebastian county and 
on the line of the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad. Lime- 
stone and iron are also plentiful in the southern part of the 
county. 

Churches, schools, cotton gins, saw-mills, grist-mills and 
planing mills are in every section of the county. There are 
also two high grade schools, one at Waldron and one at 
Cauthron, both having a large attendance, are well conducted 
by able teachers. 

The timber of the county is of many varieties. Pine, oak, 
cedar, gum, ash, shell-bark hickory, walnut and post-oak are in 
large area and fine quality. The peculiarity of the pine timber 
in this county is that much of it is known as the cork variety, 
so called because of its easy working and smooth grain. Cedar 
and gum also abound in considerable areas. 

We have a mild climate, and last winter only one snow 
about two inches deep. 

Horses, mules, cattle, sheep and hogs do well with but 
little feeding, there being an abundance of range, and many 
are raised here, but are generally sold while they are young to 
ranchmen farther west. Our railroad prospects are good, per- 
manent surveys having been made of the Little Rock & Choc- 
taw Railroad, Kansas City, Fort Smith & Sabine Pass Air Line 
Railroad, Fort Smith & Southern Railroad, all of which will 
pass through Waldron, our county seat. 

Waldron, the county seat, is forty-five miles south of Fort 
Smith, one hundred miles west of Little Rock and twenty-one 
miles east of the line, between the State of Arkansas and the 
Indian Territory, is beautifully situated on the banks of the 
Poteau river, and is a substantially built town of mostly brick 
buildings in modern style. It has about thirty business 
houses, with about eight hundred inhabitants. All the leading 
Christian religions except Catholic have organizations here, 
and the facilities for churches and schools are ample. There 
is room for more people here. 



(125) 

SHARP COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY SAM. DAVIDSON, ESQ,) 

Is situated in the White river valley, joins in its northern- 
most point the State of Missouri, and is bounded by Randolph, 
Lawrence, Independence, Izard and Fulton counties, has an 
area of 590 square miles and a population of 12,000, about 200 
of which are colored people. 

The general face of the county is rolling, one-half of the 
county is hilly, the balance level and undulating. Nearly one- 
fourth is alluvial formation, but there are no prairies. The soil 
in the bottoms is alluvial and very fine, in the upland it varies 
in quality from the best to poorest. Two hundred thousand 
acres of all the lands are improved, of which about 72,000 acres 
are in cultivation. The United States owns 136,440 acres, the 
State 20,000 acres and 7,000 acres are the property of the St. 
Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad Company. Im- 
proved lands can be bought for from $2 to ^20, and unim- 
proved lands from 50 cents to ^5 per acre. The crops gener- 
ally grown are corn, wheat, oats, rye, cotton, Irish and sweet 
potatoes, sorghum and some of the cultivated grasses, such as 
redtop, clover and German millet. The average yield per acre 
of cotton on hill lands is 550 pound*, on bottoms 1,000 pounds 
of seed cotton per acre, of corn from 30 to 50 bushels, of wheat 
II bushels, oats from 16 to 30 bushels, rye from 10 to 12 
bushels, Irish potatoes 160 bushels, sweet potatoes 225 bushels, 
turnips 200 bushels, field peas 16 bushels per acre, and sorghum 
realizes about 1 10 gallons of syrup to the acre. Timothy and 
redtop bring about 2,000 pounds, clover 2,600 pounds, and 
millet and Hungarian grass nearly 2 tons to the acre. 

Apples, peaches, cherries, plums, apricots, quinces and 
pears produce well, but peaches seem to succeed better than 
any other fruit, a failure in the peach crop being very rare. Of 
grapes, the Concord, Delaware and lona succeed best, but the 
Ives seedling, Salem and Martha have also been grown with 
success. 

Considerable attention has been paid for the last five years 
to the raising of cattle, horses, mules and sheep. The county 
is well adapted to stock-raising, and a few heads of Durham and 
Hereford breeds have been introduced. Sheep thrive well and 
are free from disease. 

Pine, all the varieties of oak, walnut, hickory, ash, syca- 
more and cedar, are found in the county; a belt of pine timber 
in the southwest portion is covering an area of 15 miles in 
length, and from 2 to 5 in width. There are as yet no facilities 
for the marketing of pine, but the railroad passing through the 
northern portion of the county affords good facilities for the 
marketing of oak, ash and walnut, which abound in that region. 

The Kansas City, Springfield & Memphis Railway passes 



(126) 

from northeast to southwest along Spring river, through the 
county. There are no navigable streams, the principal ones, 
however, which are Spring river, Strawberry river. Poke Bayou, 
North Big creek. Big creek, Piney fork. South fork, Mill, Reed's, 
Rock, Martin's and Sullivan creeks, and many other smaller 
branches are running all the seasons, and afford good watering 
for stock and other purposes. Water for domestic uses is ob- 
tained from springs and wells. 

Of mineral springs, we have Cave Spring, with an im- 
mense supply, which is located in a huge cavern, near the road 
leading from Evening Shade to Batesville. The water is per- 
fectly transparent, and so light that blood, ink, milk and other 
fluids of that density will' sink to the bottom of the vessel con- 
taining the water. It has a free effect on the action of the kid- 
neys, and is considered good in treatment of the diseases of 
that organ. It has, however, never been anal3'^zed. There are 
many minerals, such as zinc, lead, manganese and iron found in 
this county. Zinc has been mined and smelted at the works of 
the American Zinc Co. at Calamine ; pig iron has been made 
at Beven's furnace, near Calamine, but the works are now idle. 
The part of the county in which these minerals are found being 
remote from transportation, there are no facilities for their being 
successfully marketed. 

We have a icw factories, one for tobacco, wool-carding 
mills, a broom factory, distillery, and about ten good flouring 
mills. 

We have about 57 common free schools in the county, 
which as such are kept open for three months in the year. In 
addition, and for higher attainments, we have at Evening Shade 
an excellent high school, and also the Liberty Hill Academy 
and the Ash Flat Institute. 

Twenty-five Methodist, 20 Baptist, 5 Cumberland Presby- 
terin; i old school Presbyterian and i Christian church are 
found in the principal settlements. 

(^^ towns we have Evening Shade, the county seat, with 
400; Ash Flat, with 250; Hardy, with 200; Williford, with 
150; Calamine, with 50; King's Mill with 50, and Center, with 
50 inhabitants. 

STONE COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY W. H. H. OYLER, ESQ.) 

Situated in the White river valley and in the northern por- 
tion of the State, is bounded by White river in the northeast 
and east, and in the south, west and north by the counties of 
Cleburne, Van Buren, Searcy and Baxter, embraces an area of 
600 square miles. 

The general face of the country is broken, one-fourth of it 
bemg mountainous and the rest hilly, with a few alluvial strips 



( 12/ ) 

along the banks of the rivers and streams. About one-eighth 
of all the lands are improved, nearly three-fourths belong to the 
United States, 6o,000 acres, including i6th sections, to the 
State, and i6o acres are owned by the St. Louis, Iron Moun- 
tain & Southern Railroad Company. The soil in the bottoms 
is alluvial, in the uplands a light sandy loam, and in the moun- 
tains black sand with limestone foundation. The prices of land 
vary from $"/ to ^40 per acre for improved, and from ;$2.50 to 
Sio per acre for unimproved. 

Cotton, corn, wheat, oats and all other farm products are 
grown and make good crops. Cotton yields from 500 to 1,000 
pounds of seed cotton on hill and bottom respectively, corn 
produces from 25 to 40 bushels, wheat and rye 10 bushels, oats 
25 bushels, Irish and sweet potatoes and turnips from 100 to 
250 bushels, and sorghum about lOO gallons to the acre. 

Timothy, redtop, clover and millet, as well as other of the 
cultivated varieties of grasses, produce well, and yield from 
2,000 to 3,000 pounds per acre. Live-stock receives increased 
■attention, but the Durham breed of cattle is all that has been 
so far introduced. 

Fruits of all varieties and kind succeed well here. Of 
grapes, the Concord does best. Nearly all kinds of oak are 
found in the forests. The white oak grows all over the county 
in abundance, and pine, cedar, walnut and hickory are in some 
localities, but there is no cypress. The only facilities for ship- 
ping are furnished by the While river, the only navigable 
stream, and there being no railroads in the county. 

Of minerals, we have iron and manganese, but these have 
never been developed. 

Water for domestic purposes, obtained from springs and 
wells, is both hard and soft. The "Bon Air" mineral springs, 
containing iron, are recommended for all diseases for which 
iron is used. 

Common free schools are in every district, and at Moun- 
tain View we have a high school. Baptist, Methodist and 
other denominations have churches in every neighborhood. 
Our principal town is Mountain View, with 140 inhabitants, and 
the population of the county is 6,000, of which 100 are negroes, 

ST. FRANCIS COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY J. M. STEWART.) 

Situated within six miles of the Mississippi river, with its 
eastern boundary, and in the St. Francis river valley, is bounded 
by the counties of Crittenden, Lee, Monroe, Woodruff and 
Cross, contains an area of 397,018 17-100 acres, and a popula- 
tion of about 12,000, 4,000 of whom are colored people. The 



(128) 

country is generally level, with about 7 per cent, rolling up- 
lands, 88 per cent, being alluvial and 5 per cent, prairie. 

Twenty-five per cent, of all the area is improved. Four 
hundred and forty acres belong to the United States, and only 
about 10,000 to the State, but the Memphis & Little Rock 
Railroad owns about acres. 

The crops generally grown are cotton, corn, oats, wheat, 
rye, potatoes, turnips, peas and pumpkins, in fact everything 
which this latitude produces. The average yield of these crops 
is, on hill lands, for cotton 1,000 pounds of seed cotton, on 
bottoms 1,500 pounds; corn, 25 bushels on uplands and 40 
bushels on bottom lands ; wheat, from 10 to 18 bushels; oats, 
25 to 35 bushels; rye, 15 to 25 bushels; Irish and sweet pota- 
toes, 250 bushels; turnips, 400 bushels; field peas, 60 bushels, 
and sorghum, 180 gallons of syrup per acre. All varieties of 
cultivated grasses do well. Timothy and redtop produce 4,000 
pounds, clover 5,000 pounds, and millet 6,000 pounds per acre. 

Pears, apples, peaches, quinces, plums, cherries, grapes, 
are cultivated extensively. Pears, apples and plums succeed 
best, and of grapes, the Concord, scuppernong and Martha pro- 
duce most 'abundantly. 

Very little attention is paid to live stock. The country 
seems well adapted to this business, having abundant water 
and grazing privileges, and some improved breeds have 
been introduced with marked success, the Jersey cattle doing 
well here. 

Our timber is abundant. Cypress, white oak, walnut, red 
gum and hickory grow everywhere, and the facilities for mar- 
keting lumber are also abundant. 

The Memphis & Little Rock Railroad intersects the center 
of the county from east to west, and the St. Louis, Iron Moun- 
tain & Southern Railroad crosses the center of the county in a 
northerly direction. The St. Francis and L'Anguille rivers, 
running parallel to each other in a southerly direction, are 
navigable, and have many excellent tributaries in the ccmty. 

On the Memphis & Little Rock, about two and a-half miles 
east of Forrest City, is an immense marble bed, covering about 
320 acres of land, and from 8 to 20 feet deep, producing a fine 
article. 

The general soil of the county is productive. In the bot- 
toms we have buckshot and black sandy loam, in the uplands 
clay loam. Improved lands can be bought from ^5 to ^40 and 
unimproved from ^l to ^$10 per acre. 

There are forty common schools distributed over the 
county, kept open from three to ten months, according to the 
vote in the district in which they are located, and the Helena 
district high school is located at Wheatly. Thirty Methodist, 
Baptist, Cumberland Presbyterians, Old School Presbyterians 



129) 

and Catholic churches are found over the county and generally 
in all neighborhoods. 

Our water is principally hard, and is obtained from wells 
and springs, but a good deal of cistern water is used for domes- 
tic purposes. The Stewart and Davis mineral springs have 
some reputation as a cure for dyspepsia and diarrhoea. 

The principal towns are Forrest City, with 2,500, Wheatly 
300, Madison 300, Mellbrook, Goodwin, Palestine and Colts 
Station with about 150 population each. 

UNION COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY S. B. BAIRD, ESQ.) 

With an area of 1,080 square miles and a population of 
about 15,000, one-half of which belong to the negro race, is 
situated in the southern part of the State and the Ouachita 
River Valley, which river forms its northwestern boundary; 
other boundaries are, Ouachita county on the north, Columbia 
county on the west, and the State of Louisiana on the south. 

The general face of the county is comparatively level, with 
no mountains, and only a few hills draining well towards the 
Ouachita river. 

About one-sixth of the county consists of improved lands; 
43,400 acres belong to the United States, 80,000 to 100,000 to, 
the State 12,000 to 15,000 acres to the Mississippi, Red River 
& Texas Railroad Co. 

The general character of the soil in the bottoms is sandy 
mixed with alluvial, in the uplands sandy. 

The'prices for improved lands are $1.2^ to ;^5.00, for un- 
improved lands, 50 cents to ^1.25 per acre. 

The principal crops of the county are cotton, corn, oats, 
peas and potatoes, of which cotton yields on hill lands, 6 to 800 
pounds ; on bottom lands, 1,000 to 1,200 pounds of seed cotton 
to the acre; corn, from 12 to 15 bushels on uplands, on bottom 
lands, from 20 to 25 bushels; oats, from 15 to 25 bushels; to- 
bacco, from 800 to 1,000 pounds ; rye, from 7 to 10 bushels; 
Irish potatoes, from lOO to 300 bushels ; sweet potatoes, about 
the same; peas, from 10 to 12 bushels per acre, and 100 gallons 
of syrup to the acre of sorghum. Of cultivated grasses very 
few are grown in the county. 

Of fruits, peaches, apples and grapes are grown for domes- 
tic purposes, the varieties of grapes grown being principally 
the Scuppernong. 

The timber of the county is abundant, and the forests are 
abundant in all varieties. Pine and white oak abound on all 
unimproved lands, and cypress grows along the margins of 
streams. We have no facilities for shipping lumber to markets 
except along the northeastern boundary of the county, where 
the waters of the Ouachita river furnish a navigable highway 
for all purposes. So far no railroads have been built in the 



( I30) 

county, though it is expected that facihties of this character 
will exist at no distant day. The population is now reckoned 
at about 15,000, half of which are negroes. 

While coal and iron ore is found along the marginal hills, 
no development except for private purpose has so far been made. 

Tne educational advantages here are as good as generally 
in the country. About 120 common schools are distributed in 
the different school districts, which are kept open about three 
months in the year. In addition, we have the Eldorado and 
Blanchard high school, and another good school at Mount 
Holly. The Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians have about 
sixty churches. 

Of principal towns, there are Eldorado, the county seat, 
with a population of 500, Hillsboro lOO, Blanchard Springs 
150, Mount Holly 150, Lisbon 50, Three Creeks 75, Cham- 
pagnolle 75, New London 50, Caledonia 50. 

The county is well watered by constant running streams 
and branches, which intersect nearly every section of its terri- 
tory. Water for domestic purposes is obtained both from 
springs and wells, and is generally soft. Of mineral springs, 
we have Blanchard's, Wooley's and Perdue's Springs, the 
waters of which have been analyzed and show valuable medic- 
inal properties. 

VAN BUREN COUNTY. 

Bounded on the north by Searcy and Stone counties, on 
the east by Cleburne county, on the south by Faulkner and 
Conway counties and on the west by Pope county. Area 
about 460,890 acres. Population nearly io,ooo, about 100 
colored. The southeastern part of this county is a plateau, 
some 400 feet high, while the balance of the lands are hilly and 
mountainous, with a few bottoms along the streams. 

Two hundred and forty-eight thousand nine hundred and 
eighty acres in the county tDelong to the United States and may 
be entered under the homestead act. The Iron Mountain 
Rail'vay Company owns now no land in the county. There 
are about 60,000 acres under improvement. 

The principal crops raised are corn, cotton, oats and gen- 
eral farm products, the highlands in the south being especially 
adapted to the growth of oats and wheat. The soil is generally 
good, of a siliceous character, and having a clayey, retentive 
subsoil, is not much affected by drouth. Cotton produces well, 
and will yield, on the table lands, from 600 to 800 pounds of 
seed cotton to the acre, and in the uplands, where the soil has 
an admixture of sandy loam, it will produce 800 pounds on an 
average, which increases to 1,600 pounds in some of the more 
fertile bottom lands. Corn yields in the same proportion from 
20 to 35 bushels to the acre, and wheat 15 bushels. Cultivated 
grasses do well in this county anywhere, and v/ill harvest from 



(131) 

one to two tons per acre. Fruits of all kinds, especially grapes, 
do equally well. 

For stock-raising this county seems especially adapted, and 
though but little has been done to try the improved breeds, 
wherever the Jersey, Durham and Holstcin have been brought 
it has shown the climate and condition of this" section to be 
favorable to their growth and continuance. 

The timber of this county is varied and abundant. In the 
southeastern part of the county abounds the pine in luxuriating 
h>rests, and oak and hickory, sweet and black gum are found 
along the streams in large belts. Van Buren has no railroad or 
navigable stream, and the marketing of her timber resources 
is therefore out of the question. Otherwise the county is well 
watered, being intersected by numerous clear and beautiful 
streams, bordered by rich pasture lands. In the northern por- 
tion we have Owl Fork of White river, with its many little trib- 
utaries, flowing in an easterly direction ; in the central portion, 
running east, we have Little Red river; in southwestern part 
are the head waters of Point Remove creek, and southeast the 
Xorth Fork of Cadron creek heads in the county, flowing 
twelve miles towards the south. There are many good mineral 
springs of good healing qualities. Those named the White 
and Black Sulphur and the Price springs are the most favorably 
known among them. 

Coal is found in the county, and is used for blacksmithing 
and other purposes. 

We have fifteen common schools, and many church-houses 
■J distributed through the county. 

The county seat is Clinton, with about 200 population. 
Of other towns and villages are Liberty Springs, Choctaw, 
Scotland, Oak Flat and Bee Branch and about twelve post- 
offices. 

WASHINGTON COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY J. P. CARNAHAN AND F. R. EARLE, ESQ.) 

The area of this county is 890 square miles. It is situated 
in the northwestern corner of the State, and is bounded on the 
west by the Indian Territory, on the north by Benton county, 
and the east by Madison and on the south by Crawford coun- 
ties. The general features of the county are broken, being 
about one-third mountainous, one-third hills and one-third level 
land. Originally about one-fifth of all the lands was prairie, 
including some of the highest hills. About one-third of the 
level lands are alluvial, especially all the valleys of the streams. 
One-half of all the lands of the county are improved. Thirty- 
five thousand acres belong to the United States and 20,000 
acres to the State. Practically no lands in Washington county 
belong to railroads. A few scattered forties were selected 
however, by the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad Company' 



(132) 

The soil of the county is generally good, in the bottoms alluvial, 
in the uplands a clay loam with a red clay foundation, and in 
the mountains sandy loam and clay loam. The prices of land 
are, for improved, $$ to $25 per acre, and for unimproved from 
^1.25 to ;$io per acre. 

This is strictly speaking the grain-raising portion of Arkan- 
sas, but nearly all crops which are raised between the cotton 
lands and the British possessions will grow here. Corn will 
yield from 20 to 50 bushels, wheat from 8 to 16 bushels, oats 
from 30 to 40 bushels, rye from 8 to 15 bushels, Irish potatoes 
150 bushels, sweet potatoes 200 bushels, turnips 200 bushels 
and sorghum 150 gallons per acre. The cultivated varieties of 
grasses do lirst-rate. Red clover, timothy, redtop, blue grass, 
millet, Hungarian yield abundant returns. Timothy 1,500 
pounds, redtop 1,500 pounds, clover 3,000 pounds, millet 4,000 
pounds, and Hungarian grass 4,000 pounds per acre. Where 
alfalfa has been cultivated it has produced 3,000 pounds. 

This county, by its climate and soil, is one of the safest 
and most productive fruit regions of this continent. Apples, 
peaches, pears, plums, cherries, strawberries, raspberries, black- 
berries, gooseberries yield handsome crops and profits. Grape 
culture is being tried with success. The Concord and Norton's 
Virginia are doing best, but others, such as the Neosho and 
Delaware have been tried with promising results. 

Stock-raising receives more attention from year to year, 
and the county is well adapted to this purpose, especially to 
the raising of hogs and sheep. Hogs have been generally im- 
proved. Horses, cattle, mules and sheep have been improved 
only partially. Shorthorns, Jersey cattle, Berkshire hogs, South- 
down sheep and Leicester sheep and Norman horses are among 
the breeds imported. 

White oak, walnut and cherry are found in paying quanti- 
ties, but white oak timber is more abundant than any other. 
There are no facilities for shipping. Freights of the railroads 
alm'^^ amount to prohibition thus far, except on railroad ties, 
millions of which have been furnished to the St. Louis & San 
PVancisco and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railways, and 
whatever timber the railroads want for their own use can be 
shipped without any trouble, but none other to any profit. The 
railroads in the county are the St, Louis & San Francisco, com- 
pleted north and south, and the Pacific & Great Eastern Rail- 
road, now building east and west. 

Of streams and springs there are an abundance. The 
principal ones, in addition to White river, which alone is navi- 
gable, are Three Forks and Illinois creek. All these streams 
and others never go dry. 

Minerals, such as lead, coal and salt are known to exist, 
but have not been developed. 



(133) 

Flouring mills, woolen mills, fruit evaporators and shops 
for the manufacture of plows and other agricultural implements, 
as well as for wagons, have been established and are thriving. 

Washington county has a rapidly growing population, now 
about 30,000, of which only about 900 are colored people. 
We have schools in every school district, about 135 in all, which 
are open free for instruction in the common English branches 
from three to eight months in the year. We have also the 
Arkansas Industrial University, an institution of the State, the 
Cane Hill College. Cincinnati Academy, Lutheran Seminary 
and Fayetteville District Conference Institute. Of churches, 
there are forty, belonging to Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, 
Roman Catholics, Cumberland Presbyterians, Christians, Luth- 
erans, Adventists and Dunkards. 

The water used for domestic purposes is found both hard 
and soft, and is obtained from wells and springs. Of mineral 
springs we have chalybeate and sulphur springs. The analysis 
of the waters show the presence of sulph. magnesia, sulph. 
alumina, sulph. iron, bicarbonate of lime, bicarbonate of mag- 
nesia, and is recommended for rheumatism, general debility and 
biliousness. 

Our principal towns are Fayetteville, 2,800 inhabitants, 
Springdale 700, West Fork 300, Cincinnati 300, Boonesboro 
350, Evansville 200, Prairie Grove 300, Goshen 250. 
WHITE COUNTY. 

L (CONTRIBUTED BY ISRAEL M. MOORE.) 

P- Situated in the White river valley and divided nearly in 
halves by Little Red river, one of the tributaries of White river; 
bounded on the east by White river, on the north by Jackson 
and Independence counties, on the west by Cleburne and 
Faulkner counties, and on the south by Lonoke and Prairie 
counties; containing an area of nearly i,iOO square miles and a 
population of 20 000, of which 2,000 are colored people. 

The face of the country is rolling, three-fifths hilly and 
two-fifths level ; of the latter about one-half alluvial, with no 
prairie. About twenty per cent, of the land is improved; 
12,700 acres belong to the United States, 29,000 acres to the 
State and 84,400 acres to the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & 
Southern Railway Company. 

The soil is generally good and produces well, and the 
prices are moderate: for improved lands, from S5 to $2^, and 
for unimproved, from ;^i to ;$iO. 

The crops generally grown in this county are corn, cotton, 
wheat, oats, peas, grass, potatoes, turnips and sorghum. 

Cotton yields on hill lands 800 pounds of seed cotton, and 
1,500 pounds on bottom lands. 

Corn averages from 25 to 40 bushels, wheat from 7 to 10, 
tobacco from 600 to 800 pounds, oats from 25 to 40 bushels, 



(134) 

rye from 8 to 12 bushels, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes and 
turnips from 150 to 200 bushels, field peas 20 bushels and sor- 
ghum 125 gallons of syrup to the acre. 

Redtop, clover, millet, timothy and orchard grass grow- 
well and produce from 3,000 to 4,000 pounds to the acre. 

Fruits and grapes succeed remarkably well, except per- 
haps pears, which are subject to blight, especially the dwarf 
varieties. Apples, peaches, plums, quinces, strawberries, black- 
berries, raspberries and gooseberries yield large and luscious 
fruits. 

Live stock is receiving considerable attention of late, and 
the county is well adapted to its growth. Improved breeds 
have not been introduced to any great extent until recently. 
Horses, mules, cattle and hogs succeed best, and sheep do 
tolerably well. The stock business is looking up, and is the 
most profitable business of the county. 

Of timber we have all varieties common here : white,! 
black, red, post and overcup oak, black walnut, hickory, ash,, 
cedar, pine, pecan, cypress, cottonwood, sweet and black gum, 
and Spanish and cow oak. Valuable white oak grows in almost 
any part of the county abundantly, and pine and cypress in 
considerable quanties. 

The transportation facilities for the marketing of lumber 
and products generally are good. Of railroads we have the 
St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, intersecting the 
county from north to south. Of rivers and streams we have 
White and Little Red rivers, which are navigable, and quite a 
number of small streams, running all the year, which are not 
navigable. 

Water for stock and farming purposes is abundant in all 
parts of the county ; for domestic purposes springs and wells 
furnish both hard and soft water; and of mineral springs we 
have several which, for their known health restoring qualities, 
ha?Ts become celebrated, and the summer and sanitary resorts 
of invalids from all parts of this continent. Among these are 
the most prominent the sulphur and chalybeate springs of 
Searcy, recommended and sought for malarial affections and 
general debility, and in the midst of a thriving city, turnished 
with all the comforts and conveniences for rest, recreatioYi and 
enjoyment; the Armstrong chalybeate springs, for all disorders 
caused by indigestion and sluggish action of the liver and kid- 
neys, and also provided with good accommodations ; and the 
Griffin springs, with fine chalybeate waters, recommended for 
indigestion and malaria. 

The educational facilities are first-class. There are about 
eighty-eight school districts, with from one to three schools in 
each, which are kept open from three to eight months in the 



(135) 

year. At Searcy we have a first-rate male and female academy, 
and at Judsonia the Judsonia University. 

Of towns and their population we have Searcy with 2,000, 
Beebe i,ooo, Judsonia 700, Bradford 100, Russell 100, Bald 
Knob 50, Kensett lOO, West Point 200, El Paso 200 and Center 
Hill 50. 

WOODRUFF COUNTY. 

(CONTRIBUIED BY W. P. CAMPBELL.) 

Woodruff county was organized in 1862. It lies immedi- 
ately on the east bank of White river, directly west of Memphis, 
Tennessee. It is nearly forty miles long from north to south, 
and about twenty wide from east to west, and contains 384,000 
acres. It is part of a system of lowland farm country which 
extends from Black river southward to the confluence of White 
river with the Mississippi, and is noted for its extraordinary 
yield per acre in corn and cotton. The greater portion of the 
county is very level. The soil is a rich dark sandy loam, very 
quick and generous, is unsurpassed in fertility and continued 
usefulness. 

To a maximum product per acre in corn and cotton, it is 
shown by official statistics to be also a region highly adapted to 
a diversified farm industry. Grasses, fruits, garden products^ 
oats, rye and millet find a congenial home in its soil and climate, 
and therefore specially suited to the small farm. 

Though probably to the extent of three eighths of the 
whole is unsuited to farm operations without original expendi- 
ture lor drainage, that it is thoroughly appreciated for its val- 
uable timber is shown by the fact of only 37,309 acres having 
record as public property, the remainder 346,691 acres being 
the property of individual holders. The forest area — timber 
known to be of merchantable quality and size — is estimated at 
a quarter million of acres. The prevailing varieties are accord- 
ing to the following order of distribution: White oak, gum, 
ovcrcup, ash, hickory, red oak and cypress. 

To the excellent character of the farm lands and timber it is 
to be added that the county is also deserving of kindly mention 
on the score of population. The white inhabitants, who are in 
excess of the colored two or three hundred, have a standing 
throughout the State as being among the most respectable in 
Arkansas. The colored citizens, who as a rule were the slaves 
of their present employes, are most orderly and prosperous, 
especially since they are not without the encouragement and 
sympathy of their white neighbors. 

The price of the best grade lands, improved, is from $1$ 
to ;$40 per acre, unimproved ^10 per acre. Second grade, im- 
proved, from ^10 to $20 per acre, unimproved ^3.50 to $8 per 
acre. Timbered lands, according to character of soil on which 
it is found and accessible outlet, from 5i-50 to ;^io per acre. 



(136) 

The evasive and subversive rule of under estimating values 
for purposes of taxation having also obtained in this county, 
but little conception of its progress and advance is to be gained 
from its local statistics of assessments, and from crop reports. 

The present population of the county is 14,000; number 
of polls, 3,510; number of scholars enrolled in the public 
schools, 1,950; number of school districts, 22; organized 
churches, Methodist 8, Baptist 4, Presbyterians 2 ; State and 
county tax, 12 mills on ^$100. 

Number of towns, six : Augusta, Cotton Plant, Deview, 
Howells, Grays Station and Riverside. Augusta, the county 
seat, is situated on White river, eight miles from Riverside, on 
the Batesville & Brinkley Railroad, and ten miles from Russell, 
on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad. The 
remaining towns — with the exception of Deview — are situated 
on the Batesville & Brinkley Railroad. 

Transportation facilities are afforded by a tri-weekly line 
of steamers from Memphis to Augusta, and by the Batesville & 
Brinkley Railroad, which passes from south to north through 
the heart of the county. 

Woodruff county extends a hearty welcome to good, 
honest and industrious people from all sections of our common 
country, who will aid her in rebuilding her waste places, and 
the development of her wonderful resources. 

YELL COUNTY. 

Bounded on the northeast by the Arkansas river, north by 
Logan, west by Scott, south by Montgomery and Garland and 
east by Perry counties, contains an area of 186,700 acres and a 
population of 14,500 inhabitants, of whom 900 are colored. 

The face of the country is undulating ; twenty per cent, in 
mountains, the tops of which are tillable ; fifty per cent, in hills 
and thirty per cent, is level ; of the latter about ten per cent, is 
alluviaLand five per cent, prairie. Nearly thirty per cent, is 
improved. There are 280,000 acres of United States lands sub- 
ject to homestead. 

The soil in the bottoms is very rich, and, with small 
exceptions, free from overflow. In the uplands it is productive 
mixed with sand, and in the mountains, where level enough to 
be cultivated, it is generally fertile. Land can be bought, im- 
proved for from ;$io to ;$40, and unimproved from ^3 to ;^io per 
acre. 

The crops are usually good. Corn, wheat, cotton, oats, 
timothy, red top, clover and tobacco produce well, but the latter 
is only sparingly used. The average yield of cotton on hill 
lands is 800 pounds, on bottoms 1,600 pounds per acre. Corn 
yields from 30 to 50 bushels, wheat from 10 to 15 bushels, oats 



( ^37 ) 

from 40 to 60 bushels per acre, and the grasses produce from i 
to 2 tons. 

Fruits are raised as yet only for home use, but apples, 
peaches, grapes, strawberries, nectarines and other varieties do 
well. 

Stock-raising has very little attention, though the county 
is well adapted for propagating and feeding of all kinds of cat- 
tle ; the Jersey, mixed with the native scrub, thrives well, and 
Poland China and Berkshire hogs both do well, weighing from 
400 to 600 pounds. 

Of railroads we have the Dardanelle & Russellville road, 
a feeder to the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad, which 
runs to the river bank opposite Dardanelle, in this county. 

Of streams we have the Arkansas river, the Petit Jean and 
Fourche La Fave, which are navigable, and the Delaware, 
Chicaloh, Riley, Dutchess and other running streams, abounding 
in fish. 

Coal is found in pany localities and is used for domestic 
purposes, but has not been developed; but the most and best 
leads are eight and ten miles from the Arkansas river and from 
the Dardanelle & Russellville Railway. 

We have only a wool carding machine, which does a 
moderate business, and the Dardanelle Manufacturing Com- 
pany, employing a number of hands in the making of wagons. 

There are about seventy-five school districts in the county, 
with an average of one school to the district, and which are kept 
open from four to ten months. 

All denominations have houses of worship in the principal 
settlements. 

Our towns are: Dardanelle, with 1,500; Danville, with 
Ferguson's Mill, 350, and other small villages — Bluffton, Briggs- 
ville. Gravelly Hill, Fair Hill, Jennings' Falls, Centerville, Ola 
and Chicaloh. 

Water for domestic purposes is obtained from wells and 
springs, and is usually soft. Of mineral springs we have the 
Dardanelle Sulphur Springs, about eleven miles west of Darda- 
nelle, than there is no superior sulphur water. Nebo Springs, 
1,500 feet altitude, are said to be a specific for dyspepsia. No 
analysis. 

THE CITY OF FORT SMITH. 

Is situated on the line between the State of Arkansas and 
the Indian Territory, on the south bank of the Arkansas river, 
about fifty feet above the ordinary level of the river. Its topog- 
raphy is such as to afford excellent drainage. 

The city limits are a mile and three-quarters by a mile and 
a quarter, containing about 12,000 acres. It is divided into 
blocks 300 feet square, intersected by alleys 20 feet wide. The 



(138) 

blocks are sub-divided into 12 lots 50x140 feet. The streets 
range in width from 50 to 120 feet. 

In 1880, when the United States census was taken, there 
were 3,256 inhabitants in the city; at the present time the 
population is estimated at io,odo. Of this number about 1,200 
are colored and about 1,000 Germans. Ever}'- State in the Union 
and almost every nationality is here represented. 

The writer has lived in Fort Smith nearly fifteen years and 
has been a close observer. He fully certifies that Fort Smith 
is a remarkably healthy city. The physicians say that there is 
no disease which they could properly term the prevailing one. 

The political parties are pretty nearly equally divided. It 
is said of this city that "no rebels returned after the war and 
no Yankees came here." Such a thing as political or sectional 
proscription is unknown in either social or business life. Every 
citizen here enjoys every social and political right they could 
enjoy in any city in the country, north or south. It would be 
impossible to find a place where a man will find his level or be 
given credit for his full worth sooner than in this. The latch- 
string is always out, and the hand of welcome extended to all 
who come into the city to seek their fortune in any honorable 
pursuit, regardless of nationality, section of country, political 
or religious belief. There is no city in which a man's wealth or 
poverty has less to do with fixing his social status than in this. 

There are in the city three Methodist, two Baptist, one 
Presbyterian, one German Lutheran, one Catholic and one Epis- 
copal organizations having very creditable church buildings. 
The Campbellites are now building a church, and the German 
Catholics are about to commence one. 

There are three large public school houses for the white 
children, capable of seating about 1,200 children, and a large 
brick school house for the colored children. In addition to the 
public schools, the German Lutherans have a large school, and 
there is a large Convent school, beside several other private 
schools of minor importance. The public school system is 
rapidly improving, and its high school privileges constantly 
being increased. The last United States Congress made a mag- 
nificent donation to the public schools of this city, granting to 
the city of Fort Smith, to sell for the benefit of the schools, 
about 200 acres of ground, which has been cut up into 1,200 
lots 50 by 140 feet. Less than one-third of them were sold 
last spring, yielding ^125,000. The policy of the school 
directors is to hold the principal intact, using only the interest. 
Another sale will probably be made in the course of two years, 
giving time for the lots already sold to be built upon. It is 
believed that from this source that a fund of $400,000 will be 
realized, the interest of which, with the city's pro rata of the 



( 139) 

State school tax, will give ample means to conduct a splendid 
system of schools without resort to local taxation. 

The city of Fort Smith has a bonded indebtedness of 
about ^7,000, which is being reduced annually by a tax of two 
and one-half mills. Fort Smith's pro rata of the county in- 
debtedness is about ^4,500, making her total indebtedness 
;^i 1,500. This county's indebtedness will all be paid within 
two years. 

The State, county and city taxes for the present year 
amount to ^2.35 on the $100 of assessed valuation. It is esti- 
mated that the assessment shows but about 40 per cent, of the 
true value of the property. This makes the rate of taxation 
but about 94 cents on the true value of the property. 

The taxes for present year are made up as follows : State 
4 mills, county expenditures 5 mills, county bonds 2 mills, 
special school 5 mills, city expenditures 5 mills, city debt 2 1-2 
mills. Next year the school tax will be reduced three mills, 
the county debt tax one-half mill, reducing the tax two per 
cent., which on true values will only be 80 cents on the ^lOO- 

Under the constitution of the State the utmost limit of 
taxation that can be imposed after the old indebtedness is 
settled is 2 1-2 per cent. This includes a 5 mill special school 
tax, which can only be levied by vote of the citizens of the 
school district. Neither county nor city, since 1874, has been 
permitted to loan their credit or issue bonds for any purpose 
except to fund indebtedness existing prior to that date. 

The city is well built, containing a large number of highly 
creditable private residences. The resident portion of the city 
is not built in blocks. It is a rare thing to find a residence 
built on less than one lot of 50x140 feet, and from that up to a 
full block of twelve lots. The business portion of the city is 
built of brick and stone from two to three stories high. The 
character of the buildings is such as to show that the citizens 
have confidence in the prosperity of the city. A ^40,000 court- 
house has been settled on by the county, and a large United 
States court-house is to be built. 

There is an ice factory, telephone exchange, gas w^orks, 
water works, electric light company and street railway in full 
operation, all of them built with a view to extension and en- 
largement to meet the growing demand. 

Fort Smith is the present terminus of the St. Louis & San 
Francisco and the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railways. The 
latter connects at Little Rock with the St. Louis, Iron Moun- 
tain & Texas, the Memphis & Little Kock and the Arkansas 
Valley Roads, and will be extended to Arkansas City in 
Kansas. The St. Louis & San Francisco Road is to be ex- 
tended to connect with the Texas system of roads at Paris, 
Texas, so soon as the bridge across the Arkansas river, near 



( I40) 

this city, is completed, which will be January i, 1886. Another 
road is being projected from Baxter Springs, Kansas, its present 
terminus, to Galveston, Texas. 

The Arkansas river, which is navigable in the heavy 
freighting seasons for large boats, is a constant menace to 
the railroads and insures Fort Smith fair freight rates. During 
the entire year small boats, built for the trade, add largely to 
the commerce of the city, ascending the Arkansas river to Fort 
Gibson in the Indian Territory. 

The county, probate and circuit court is held here. In 
addition to these, the United States district court for the Western 
district of Arkansas, having criminal jurisdiction of the greater 
part of the Indian Territory, is held at Fort Smith, bringing 
crowds of witnesses, jurors, etc. The annual expenses of this 
court is about ^250,000, the greater part of which is spent in 
this city. 

Much attention is being paid to manufactories. The oil 
and cotton compress is the second in size in the United States. 
It covers nearly three acres of ground, and ranges from 20 to 
50 feet in height. It is estimated that this institution, by the 
purchase of cotton seed, saving in cost of ginning cotton, and 
making a center for cotton buyers, adds to the wealth of the 
section of the State in which it is located not less than ^250,000 
per annum. There are two steam furniture factories, capable 
of working one hundred hands ; two large steam cotton gins 
running nine 80-saw gins; two iron foundries; two machine 
shops; a steam flouring mill; galvanized iron cornice manufac- 
tory ; one large planing mill, another being built, and three saw 
mills. A large number of wagons are also made. 

There is an abundance of timber of all kinds. The city 
is near to the iron fields, and water that will not scale the 
boilers. Within six months the finest steam coal in the world 
can be laid down at from seven to eight cents per bushel. Two 
bushels of this coal is equal to three of Missouri or Illinois 
coal. Its analysis shows 80 per cent, of fixed carbon. It is 
remarkably free of sulphur, burns with but very little smoke, 
to an ash almost as soft as wood ashes. The supply of this 
semi-anthracite coal is inexhaustible, and is found near the 
surface in veins from three to eight feet thick. The rivers and 
railways afford ample transportation for the rapidly increasing 
trade in manufactured articles. At a very near day the Indian 
Territory will be opened to white settlement. When this occurs 
it will add thousands of acres ot the finest land to the sup- 
porting territory of Fort Smith. The territory is entirely 
destitute of manufactories. This fact, in connection with the 
fact of having railroad and river routes into the territory, insures 
the success of almost any manufacturing enterprise. 

The main articles of commerce shipped from this point are 



(141) 

cotton, wheat, small fruits, berries, early vegetables, cotton 
seed meal, cotton seed oil, furniture, hides, lumber and cattle. 

There is a large jobbing trade done in groceries, dry goods, 
clothing, liquors, drugs, cigars and hardware. 

Among the prominent business houses are the following 
wholesale : Four groceries, four hardware stores, five dry 
good stores, two drug houses, three liquor houses and two cot- 
ton warehouses. It is estimated that the business of the city 
reached to nearly $10,000,000 during the season of 1884-85. 
There are upwards of 200 business houses. During the past 
three years there have been but seven failures, two of which 
were conclusively shown to have been fraudulent. 

Fort Smith draws a large trade from Scott, Franklin, 
Logan, Sebastian, Crawford and Washington counties and the 
Indian Territory. Its markets are well supplied with fruits, 
vegetables, berries, game, fish and meats of all kinds. 

Fair competition keeps everything to eat and wear down 
to a minimum price. Coal hauled in wagons sells from 14 to 
15 cents per bushel. When the railroad is extended, as above 
stated, coal can be retailed at 10 cents per bushel. One ton of 
this coal will go as far for heating purposes as three cords of 
the best wood, which can be had at $3 per cord. 

In conclusion, the writer wishes to say that the foregoing 
is written in the utmost spirit of fairness. Those who come 
will find upon investigation that there has been no speculation 
or bombast indulged in. 

Earnest workers from any State or nation will be cordially 
received and welcomed as a part of the population, entitled to 
and receiving every right and privilege accorded to every other 
person. J. H. Clendening. 

LITTLE ROCK. 

(CONTRIBUTED BY JOHN A. PIRTLE.) 

The city of Little Rock is the political and commercial 
capital of Arkansas. It is located near the center of the State 
on the right bank of the Arkansas river, on a bluff or elevation 
450 feet above the sea level. The elevation rolling, affords a 
natural drainage so perfect that but little artificial aid is needed 
to make Little Rock one of the most perfectly drained cities in 
the United States. The city is platted upon broad streets run- 
ning at right angles, and numbered east and west from Main 
street, and north and south from Markham street. The city is 
supplied with water from the Arkansas river. It is built of 
stone, brick and wood, many of the buildings being of modern 
architecture and substantially built. The population is about 
25,000 people, who are thrifty, smart and progressive. Much 
intelligence and true man and womanhood dwells here. The 
Valley Route, the trunk line from the northwest to the south- 



( 142 ) 

east, is crossed here by the St. Louis, Iron ]\Iountain & 
Southern Railway, the north and south trunk hne railway. 
These railways, with the Arkansas river, which is navigable to 
this point, added to the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, give 
competitive transportation facilities equal to any other point. 
The capital building is of old architecture, located on the bank 
of the Arkansas river near the center of the city, and presents 
a quiet and tidy appearance of days gone by. One square to 
the south is located a modern three-story stone building, built 
by the United States and occupied as a custom-house, post-office 
and United States court-room. The penitentiary, insane 
asylum, deaf mute institute and school for the blind are also 
located here upon spacious grounds, and in buildings of new 
architecture, substantially built for the purpose intended. Ten 
miles or more of very complete street railway, operated in good 
shape, affords cheap and ready transit to all parts of the city. 
Telegraphic communications by two companies cheapens the 
transit of news to all parts of tlie world, as does the ccmpeti- 
tion by two telephone companies afford cheap telephone service 
to all parts of the city. There are seven Methodist, four Bap- 
tist, two Episcopal, two Presbyterian, one Disciple, one 
Lutheran and two Catholic churches in Little Rock — all of 
which have houses of worship, some of which are quite preten- 
tious and costly. There are eight public schools in the city — 
all supported under the State law by direct taxation. There 
are 3,500 pupils enrolled this year, who are taught by forty-five 
teachers. The Little Rock University, Little Rock Female 
College, and Roman Catholic Convent, are schools independent 
of those public, and are well patronized. The commercial and 
political interests of Little Rock establishes its prosperity and 
future growth. Manufacture aids, and as this industry develops 
so will it be a strong support to the city. Agriculture is not 
only a support from the immediate and adjoining territory, but 
for large areas of good lands that are penetrated by our rail- 
roads in all directions. Little Rock is shown by statistics of 
the very Wghest order to rank as the only second most health- 
{\\ city in the United States, which fact adds another to its 
many virtues. For this blessing, the elevation and its complete 
drainage, and the excellent equable climate, with a mean tem- 
perature of 64 degrees Fahr., the city is indebted. The manu- 
factures of the city are few and confined to two foundries and 
machine shops, three furniture factories, three lumber, door, 
sash and blind factories, two cotton-seed oil mills, one lock 
factory, one vinegar factory, and brick-making, 8,000,000 of 
bricks having been made in the city this year. As a point for 
future manufacturers, many capitalists and other minds of the 
first order express as a fact that Little Rock is one, in point of 
location, of the first order. That competitive transportation, 



( 143 ) 

cotton direct from the field, timber of all varieties, iron and 
other minerals, stone, water and coal, all lie here together, and 
only need the muscle and direction of capital to make the city- 
one of the first and most profitable manufacturing points in the 
South. There are three national banks, with $3,500,000 capital, 
and one private bank, with ^^50,000 more. 

The receipts and disbursements of the city per annum may 
set down, in round numbers, as ;^50,000,000, divided among and 
including, cotton, $4,500,000; groceries, $6,500,000; dry goods, 
$2,500,000; meats, $1,500,000; hardware, $2,000,000; feed, 
stock and grain $3^00,000. The receipts and disbursements 
of real estate, wages and sales of manufacturers will amount 
to $30,000,000 more, making, in round numbers, $50,000,000 
worth of real solid business done per annum. 

MINERAL LANDS OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. 

Of the mineral wealth of a large portion of the country 
known as "Southwestern Arkansas" there can be little doubt; 
in fact, there is hardly any description of mineral, or even of 
quasi-minerals, that cannot be found within the area of Hemp- 
stead, Howard, Pike, Sevier, Polk and Montgomery counties; 
and it needs only the awakening hand of railroad enterprise 
and facilities to bring these rich mineral deposits into practical 
notice, practical working and financial success. 

The general lay of these mineral lands is about as follows : 
Commencing in the county of Sevier, at or about "Ultima 
Thule," we find a range of mountains and hills extending 
northerly and then easterly across Sevier county; thence run- 
ning due north across Howard into Polk county, and soon after 
entering Polk county dividing into two spurs, running east and 
west. Among these mountains lie the principal sources of 
some five important streams, viz : the rolling forks of Little 
river, the Ouachita, the Cossatot, the Saline, and the Little 
Missouri ; and it is amongst these mountains, and at the head- 
waters of these streams, that all this mineral wealth lies. 

One of the oldest, and possibly one of the richest, mines 
in this mineral region is the " Bellah Mine," situated in Sevier 
county, in township 7, range 32, which, it is believed, is a con- 
tinuation or extension of the " Kellogg Mine," in Pulaski 
county. Mr. Bellah, who was the owner of the mine, stated to 
Davin Dale Owen, the celebrated geologist, that he had sent 
some of the ore from his mine to Liverpool, England, and that 
it yielded seventy-three per cent, of lead, some copper, and 148 
ounces of silver to the ton The " Davis " and the " Wolfs " 
antimony mines, a few miles distant, also show traces of silver, 
the only analysis made showing, however, only seven or eight 
ounces of silver to the ton ; but it must be remembered that 
none of these mines have been fully developed or worked. 



( 144) 

The workings so far may almost be considered as surface 
scratchings. Quite recently, in section six (6), township seven 
(7), range thirty (30), west, some ore has been discovered, which 
is stated to have yielded forty-two per cent, of lead and fifteen 
ounces of silver to the ton. 

On the Rolling Forks, some six miles from the " Bellah 
Mines," may be found roofing slate of the finest quality. 

Salt wells are also to be found in this region, which now 
are unworked, but before and during the war were of great use 
and profit. 

But, altogether, the most remarkable and interesting 
mineral of all this region is the white malleable iron, regarding 
the existence and malleability of which a great deal of scepticism 
is said to exist. It is found in the corner of Howard county 
adjoining the frontier of Montgomery, Polk and Pike. During 
the war, it is stated on good authority, the inhabitants of the 
vicinity used to take the ore as it was picked up from the 
ground, and, in an ordinary blacksmith forge, hammered it into 
horse-shoe nails. Whether this is true or not, it is certain, and 
can be abundantly proven, that the ore can be taken, and being 
heated in an ordinary blacksmith forge, can be welded and 
beaten into any desired shape. It should be remembered that 
this white iron has been more than once analyzed. The United 
States branch mint at Charlotte, N. C, gives the following re- 
sult : " Oxide manganese from pyrolusite, psilomelane to man- 
ganese, 50-1000 gold and silver trace." 

Mr. Charles E. Wait, of the Missouri School of Mines, 
make the following quantitative analysis : 

Water 9.94 

SiHcia 16.27 

Ferric oxide 69.69 

Ferrous oxide 1.03 

Alumina 2.55 

Sulphur 3 

Phosphoric acid trace 

Total 99.51 

This outcrop of this ore, as far as it has been explored, 
runs for two miles west to east, showing a width of from 15 to 
30 feet, with an unknown depth. There can be no doubt that 
this development of iron, in so pure and malleable a form, will 
some day be immensely valuable. The magic touch of a rail- 
road will some day convert it into gold. 

On the Little Missouri river, in Pike county, are found vast 
and valuable beds of gypsum, of the best quality, and only a 
few miles from these gypsum beds has been discovered a bed 
of "kaolin," of the best and purest description, both inex- 



(145) 

haustible as to quantity. In townsliip 8, range z(\ in this 
county, are also found large beds of lignites. 

But one of the most valuable pr( ducts of Southwestern 
Arkansas, when railway facilities shall h^ve become numerous, 
will be found in the cretaceous formation, which, principally 
developed in Hempstead county, still runs more or less through 
every county of Southwest Arkansas. This cretaceous forma- 
ti m i.>> admirably adapted for the manufacture of "Natural 
Portland Cement." Boulogne, in France, is the only other 
known locality where the natural formation can be dug out 
easily, and contains all the ini;;redieiits requisite to the making 
of this valuable cement of world-fmie and world-wide demand. 

Now, to sum up the mineral resources of the Southwest 
Arkansas, we find that we have lead, silver, copper, white 
malleable iron, antimony, gypsum, salt, lignites, silicious iron 
ore, kaolin, white pipe cla\', asphaltum and the natural Portland 
cement in the shape of the cretaceous formation. In addition 
to these, a discovery is rumored of an enormous bed of fish 
phosphates, in Hempstead county, but no analysis has as vet 
been made of this. 

In closing this article. I am bound to say that I am largely 
indebted to Mr. Ernest VViedem.mn. of Washington, Arkans;is, 
for access to his valuable maps and specimens of the mineral 
resources of the southwest, which are very complete and ac- 
curate, and probably no one is better acquainted with the 
mineral resources of the southwest than Air. Wiedemann, 

CLASS OF PliOPLE WANTED. 

Arkansas is too accessible from every side, and is in pos- 
session of too many natural advantages, to pay the passage of 
any immigrant or to invite masses of unproductive people to it. 
What is wanted is men willing to work, especially men who 
will buy or rent land and cultivate it — who will make productive 
the millions of acres of land now lying waste; laboring men 
who will work for wages; mechanics, and men with capital 
who will engage in stock-raising, utilize and develop our water 
powers, erect manufactories, develop our mines of coal, iron, 
manganese and other valuable minerals. None are wanted ex- 
cept those who are willing to work, or have capital to invest, 
who by their capital or labor will increase their own and the 
people's wealth. No man who is willing to work need hesitate 
about coming to Arkansas because he has no money, for there 
is always a demand for agricultural laborers at remunerative 
wages. To all who are willing to work, or have capital to in- 
vest, a cordial invitation is extended to come and take advantage 
of the great opportunities to he found in our State, where they 
will meet with a cordial welcome from a hospitable, moral, 
rights respecting people. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 646 057 4 



